Number of average speed cameras in Surrey could double
Surrey may double its number of average speed cameras in a bid to control congestion and improve air quality in the county.
There are 10 average speed cameras in Surrey and Surrey County Council leader Tim Oliver has approached Surrey Police’s chief constable with a view to adding between six to 10 more.
It costs around £100,000 to install each one so the county council could be spending up to £1million.
Cllr Oliver said: “Rather than just looking at accident rates we’re looking at other issues as well, so through some congested villages it could control the flow of traffic so we see an improvement in air quality.”
He would also in the future like to see the speed cameras used for picking up fly-tippers and people throwing litter out of cars.
Cllr Oliver said it would “make a massive difference” to traffic in Weybridge, and the villages of Oxshott in Elmbridge and Westcott in Mole Valley are also being considered.
He hoped it would encourage drivers to stay on the A3 rather than use the road through Oxshott as a shortcut.
He said it was not a money-making exercise – speeding fines are paid to the courts rather than the council and “they’d get more income from the flashing cameras”. He wants “to see a county that’s got safer roads” and the average speed cameras had “very good levels of compliance”.
“If you save one life it will pay for that camera,” he said. The Department for Transport estimates the value of an average collision at around £105,000, which includes the cost of health care, emergency services, damage to property and vehicles and the lost economic output for the people injured.
Monitoring of five of the current average speed cameras on county council roads has shown they coincide with a reduction of 63 per cent in road casualties. A sixth installed in January did not have sufficient data.
Surrey has 16 spot speed cameras at its worst casualty hotspots, which cost a quarter of the price to install. These were shown to be less effective at reducing casualties in Surrey, with a reduction of 36 per cent.
At a meeting on Tuesday (September 28) where cabinet approved a policy of investment, Councillor Matt Furniss, cabinet member for transport and infrastructure, said: “While casualty hotspots will remain the top priority, the policy also sets out criteria for using safety cameras in other locations where there might not be collisions, but where excess speeds, congestion or air quality are concerns for the community as well.
“Average speed cameras have been proven to improve air quality as people are not braking and accelerating so much.”
Public Health England estimates 5.7 per cent of deaths in Surrey are attributed to toxic air.
Cllr Furniss added the council’s investment in average speed, spot speed, red light and combination cameras would also help free up police resources.
Locations will be decided by Surrey Road Safety Partnership Board, which involves SCC, the police and the police and crime commissioner.
It will depend on community concern but also on which boroughs and districts contribute some of their community infrastructure levy, a charge on new developments in their area.
Cameras will continue to be clearly signed and painted yellow.