Speed cameras “do a good job” in reducing road deaths and injuries

Speed cameras reduce numbers of road traffic crashes and deaths, finds new research carried out by a team based at Australia’s Queensland University.

The findings, published by the Cochrane Library (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2010;(10):CD004607, doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004607.pub3), show that when speed cameras are in place the number of vehicles that exceed local speed limits is lower, and the number of collisions and the number of people killed or injured are also reduced.

The results are topical because the United Kingdom’s coalition government has claimed that local authorities have relied too heavily on speed cameras to reduce numbers of road crashes. Earlier this year the government announced that it would be cutting the road safety budgets it gives to English and Welsh local authorities by £38m (€44m; $60m) and cutting central funding for speed cameras as part of its wider efforts to reduce public spending.

Announcing the funding cuts, the …