9:20am Sunday 11th July 2010
By Alex Lewis
SPEED cameras make an important contribution to road safety in Hertfordshire, the county's road safety boss insists.
Responding to the Taxpayer's Alliance, which has published research showing Hertfordshire drivers caught by cameras are fined more than £2 million a year, head of road safety Theresa Casbard said the level was falling.
She said: "They are reducing.
"That shows we have made drivers more aware of their speed, and the message is getting across.
"We have the busiest roads and the number of fines as a proportion of all drivers is probably less than in other counties."
The Taxpayers' Alliance disputes that cameras have reduced accidents, arguing road deaths were falling before their introduction in the early 1990s, but Ms Casbard says the benefits are clear.
She said: "In Hertfordshire there were 1,566 deaths or serious accidents in 1980.
"In 2009 there were 413.
"That is a huge reduction. It isn't all down to cameras as we do many other things such as education and traffic calming, but cameras have their part to play.
"We only install them where there has been a history of road accidents due to excessive speed.
"There are many places where residents want us to put cameras."
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