Speed cameras hailed a success

Heather Mead, communications officer for the Safety Camera Partnership Scheme, said analysis of the first set of speed data from City Walls Road, where cameras came into operation in April, has shown a dramatic reduction in offences.

She said: "Before the cameras were installed 48.55 per cent of motorists on that road drove above the speed limit.

"Since the installation of the camera it has fallen to 17.3 per cent, which is a dramatic decrease."

The figures come from an independent consultancy group which monitored the road for 24 hours-a-day during a one week period.

Despite complaints from motorists about the cameras, she added that police are working towards guidelines set by the Association of Chief Police Officers.

Added Ms Mead: "They recommend that prosecutions should start when a person drives above the speed limit by 10 per cent plus 2 mph. They are set at these levels because as soon as you start to speed the chance of killing someone increases.

"At 35mph it takes a further 21ft to stop than it does at 30mph and if a pedestrian was hit by a car travelling at 35 mph they would be twice as likely to be killed than if hit at 30 mph," she said.

However, motorist Jim Whitehurst of Bromyard, who was caught speeding twice in June said people will stop coming into the city because of the cameras.

"I would stop coming in to Worcester, even though it is our main centre for shopping," he said.

Mr Whitehurst believes those who drive well above the speed limit should be fined.

"If I had been travelling at more than 40mph then it would be a fair cop but is was doing just 35 and 36mph."

Karen Blanchette, a spokesperson for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said speed cameras should be placed in areas that have a proven accident problem and do have a positive effect on road safety.

"Safety cameras have been shown to reduce accidents where they have been installed," she said.

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