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Daily Mail, Friday, September 30th 2005
By Ray Massey, Transport Editor
An 'obsession' with speed cameras was blamed last night for drink-drive deaths rising to their highest level for 12 years.
Official figures showed the number of road deaths caused by drunk drivers rose by ten per cent last year to 590 - the highest level since 1992.
Motoring groups accused ministers and police of becoming so reliant on cash-raising speed cameras to catch road offenders that they have cut back on road patrols, allowing thousands of drunk drivers to escape detection.
For while the cameras may flash an otherwise safe driver a few miles over the speed limit on an empty road, they pointed out, they are unable to detect a drunk driving dangerously just a few miles below the limit.
Road deaths blamed on driving with excess alcohol have been rising steadily since 1998, the year the use of speed cameras started to mushroom.
Edmund King, executive director of the RAC foundation, said last night: "We are paying the price of the cutback in police patrols. The increasing focus on speed cameras and decline in traffic police means that offences such as drug driving and careless driving could be going unchecked. Speed cameras are an easy way to raise money and slow people down. But they can't spot a drunk driver. You could be drunk and under the limit and get away with it. But if you are sober and a few miles over the limit, you will be penalised. It is time the Government got a grip on this."
Mark McArthur-Christie of the Association of British Drivers added: "This obsession with speed cameras means the problem of drink driving is being ignored."
The rising death toll was described yesterday as 'shocking' by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents. It is even more disturbing as it comes against the backdrop of an overall 8 per cent drop to 3221 in the number killed on the roads in 2004.
Drink-drive deaths started falling from 1979, when they hit 1640, and reached a low of 460 in 1998. The latest peak of 590 deaths is the highest since 1992, when 660 died.
The rise in fatalities has coincided with the introduction of the Government's controversial 'Cash for Cameras' scheme. This allows so-called partnerships - comprising the police, local government and the courts - to keep the proceeds of fines to spend on more cameras and film. The treasury also benefits from a hefty cut.
More than two million motorists were fined £60 with three points on their licence last year after being caught by Britain's 6,000 cameras, raising around £120 million in fines.
Meanwhile, police have come under sustained fire for cutting back on traffic patrols, blaming it on expense.
The AA Motoring Trust's road safety chief, Andrew Howard, said: "If fewer police officers are available to create a visible deterrent at times when motorists are most tempted to drink and drive, this is worrying."
Road Safety Minister Stephen Ladyman said the Government was 'pleased' with the overall fall in road casualties. But he added: "We remain extremely concerned about the increase in drink-drive deaths."
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