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The politics of speed
Page 20
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The Conservative Party has promised an overhaul of speed limit legislation if it
gets into power. CM newsdesk reports.
Following reports in last week's CM that speed cameras are now being used to target HGVs (CMS August) something that many have suspected for a while it will probably come as a relief to many operators that the Conservative Party has promised a speed camera crackdown if it's voted into office at the next general election.
In fact the Tories have promised a complete overhaul of the legislation surrounding the issue, including: reviewing all speed limits; abolishing 'camera safety partnerships'; auditing the position of every speed camera location; and making the speed limit signs in every camera location much clearer.
They brand the cameras a stealth tax used solely as a means of generating the large slice of revenue that Gordon Brown gets every year some f15m at the last count, although that is a mere 20% of the total raised, with the rest ploughed back into buying more cameras.
ShadowTransport Secretary Damian Green says: "We think that responsible drivers have been badly hit by this government and we want to make driving less of a misery What we are proposing is a series of common-sense, practical measures which will get the government off the back of the sensible driver and restore confidence in the way we enforce the speed limit" What may give HGV operators and drivers hope is the promise to review speed limits. It's long been recognised in the haulage industry that the 40mph limit on single-carriageway roads is a problem. With modern braking systems the law seems antiquated, and widespread public ignorance about how fast trucks are allowed to go means it's an inevitable cause of frustration.
Unfortunately if a car driver is stuck behind a truck in a long queue of traffic then the solution to this is often arisky overtaking manoeuvre with sometimes fatal consequences.The argument is that if the road is good enough then a higher speed limit for trucks should apply. Operators in the North-East point to the Al in Northumbria as a good example of a road that would be well served by an increase in the HGV limit.
Right speed; wrong place
Richard Turner, chief executive at the Freight 11-ansportAssociation,adds:` Although we recognise that accidents at camera sites have dropped by 40% it does not mean that all cameras are in the right place;some clearly aren't.
"As to the review of speed limits, it's vital that they consider the 40mph limit for trucks as it makes no sense and I would go so far as to say it's positively dangerous. It could be up to local authorities to decide which of their roads are suitable for a higher speed limit. That said, a driver has always got to have regard to the prevailing conditions." •