Compensation claims news
07/04/2011

Speeding motorist road traffic accident claims

There may be an increase in road traffic accident claims in Bristol, Avon, and Somerset, since fixed speed cameras there are being turned off due to Government budget cuts.

The move, which has led to ten fixed cameras and 20 red light cameras being switched off indefinitely in Bristol alone, has raised concerns among road safety campaigners.

A spokeswoman for Roadpeace said, "Speed is definitely a contributory factor in fatal road crashes. When you see a speed camera, it does make you slow down and drive more carefully."

Similarly a Brake campaigner stated, "People do slow down when they see speed cameras, but they also speed up afterwards. Drivers need to take responsibility for their speed. I'm very worried about them taking away the red light cameras."

To counteract the loss of speed cameras in the area the police plan to subscribe to the national speed education scheme (NDORS), and try to catch speeding motorists with mobile policing units.

A further deterrent against speeding is likely to be that, while there are no operational cameras, drivers caught breaking the speed limit will no longer be able to choose to attend a safety seminar instead of receiving penalty points on their licence.

An Assistant Chief Constable from the affected area stated, "Our commitment to working with partners on reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads remains absolute. It is a crucial area of activity for us and we plan to focus our activities on targeting the most affected areas, using mobile speed cameras and working with local communities to tackle speeding."

Whether speeding related or not, individuals involved in a non-fault car crash, who suffer personal injury, could make road traffic accident claims against the person liable for the collision.