Speed cameras ditched

All of the speed cameras in part of the Thames Valley are going to be switched off because of budget cuts.

All cameras in Oxfordshire will be taken out of service by 1 August 2010 after Oxfordshire County Council made a big cut in the amount of money they give the Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership.

It's to help save £11m before April 2011.  Under the plans, the Partnership's funding will drop by £600,000.

The Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership say they're worried the scrapping of speed cameras in Oxfordshire will lead to more people being killed and injured on the county's roads.

Dan Campsall from the Partnership has been telling Heart: "We have been working over the last 10 years to improve safety on the roads across Oxfordshire and in the absence of this funding we can't continue to invest in that work and our big fear is that casualties will begin to rise."

Oxfordshire County Council say they don't think the link between speed cameras and reduced casualty rates has been proven, and they've got to make tough decisions to cope with big cuts in the amount of money they get from the government.

The yellow boxes at the side of roads in Oxfordshire will stay, for the moment at least, but they won't actively be used for speed enforcement.  The Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership are asking drivers to continue observing the limit because speed cameras are always put in locations where there's a need to protect vulnerable road users.