http://www.cumbriasafetycameras.org Cumbria Safety Cameras is the operating arm of the Cumbria Road Casualty Reduction Partnership that comprises Cumbria County Council, Cumbria Constabulary, the Highways Agency and Cumbria Magistrates Services. Cumbria Safety Cameras is also a member of the Safer Roads For Cumbria initiative. en-gb steve.callaghan@cumbriasafetycameras.org kevin.tea@cumbriasafetycameras.org Copyright 2006, Cumbria Safety Cameras http://www.cumbriasafetycameras.org http://www.cumbriasafetycameras.org/images/rss.jpg 67 78 Thu, 10 May 2007 15:07:25 +0100 Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun ]]> http://www.cumbriasafetycameras.org/index.php?schedule kevin.tea@cumbriasafetycameras.org Wed, 25 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT Young Drivers Admit They Are the Worst For Speeding

Cumbrians believe that the A66 is the road on which they are most likely to have an accident according to the latest survey from Cumbria Safety Cameras. Twenty one per cent of those questioned opted for the A66 while the A595 got the vote from 20% of the panel. Other roads that figured in the responses were the A590 and A6, both with 12%, and the A69 with 7%.

Kevin Tea, Communications Manager for Cumbria Safety Cameras, commented: “Interestingly four per cent answered that it was drivers and not the roads that were dangerous. This is certainly our standpoint as most hazards have been minimised or “engineered out” of the road network in the county. Studies we are doing into causation factors initially show that it is driver behaviour that is the cause of accidents as opposed to physical factors on the roads themselves.”

The quarterly survey also asked what age group do you think are the worst for speed and 88% opted for the 17 to 24 year group. Eighty per cent of those interviewed in this age group believed they were the worst for speeding.

When asked what age group was worst for fatal and serious injury accidents, 82% of the total panel again said the 17-24 year olds; 78 per cent of this age group also agreed they were the worst for fatal and serious injury accidents.

Residents were also asked what driver behaviour annoys them the most and tailgating and driving too close came out well ahead with 42%. Dangerous overtaking followed at 8%; drivers using mobile phones, 6%; driving too slowly, 6%; not indicating 5%; and cutting in at 4%.

There was bad news on the standards of driving in the county. Nearly one third thought that standards of driving were dropping, 56% thought they were about the same and just 9% thought they were improving.

Support for cameras remained high with 81% of those questioned strongly agreeing or agreeing that safety cameras should be supported as a method of reducing casualties. Just one fifth of the panel thought there were too many speed cameras in the county.

More than half of the panel (58%) said the presence of safety cameras had made them change the way they drive.

End

Contact: Kevin Tea 01768 217791

]]> http://www.cumbriasafetycameras.org/index.php?news kevin.tea@cumbriasafetycameras.org Tue, 18 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT Take Care Driving To & From Work Urged

People taking more care when driving too and from work would dramatically reduce the number of people being killed and seriously injured on the county’s roads, Cumbria Safety Cameras report.

Accident statistics for the first six months of the year, in which 15 people died and a further 85 have been seriously injured, show distinct peaks between 8 and 9am and 5pm and 6pm. These are supported by figures for the previous 10 years.

Kevin Tea, Communications Manager for Cumbria Safety Cameras stated: “Figures for the first half of the year show that key commuting times confirm the greatest number of accidents. The figures are consistent for every month so it is not a phenomenon of the winter months.”

The “Killer Commute” theory is further enhanced by the fact that most accidents occur on A Class national speed limit routes linking the major commercial centres within Cumbria.

“While we might expect early morning collisions to be caused by drivers who are still half asleep or late for work, the high incidence of serious crashes in the afternoon is a little harder to explain,” Tea continued.

Major contributory factors in the collisions include failing to look properly before making a manoeuvre, failing to judge the path and speed of the other vehicle, driver in a hurry and driving too fast for the conditions.

Tea added: “Our analysis shows that the vast majority of collisions are down to driver error so the claim that we have ‘killer roads’ doesn’t hold water; we have careless drivers who are to blame.

“In two other prominent categories – loss of control and careless, reckless or in a hurry – excessive or inappropriate speed was again a contributory factor and because the majority of drivers who died in 2005 were local we must assume that complacency on familiar roads was a further feature,” Tea added.

End
]]> http://www.cumbriasafetycameras.org/index.php?news kevin.tea@cumbriasafetycameras.org Wed, 12 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT
The Speeding It’s Bad For Business initiative is reminding all motorists from those who use company cars through to multi-drop van drivers and HGV drivers of the need to keep to speed limits in an effort to drive down fatal and serious injury accidents in the county.

Kevin Tea, Communications Manager for Cumbria Safety Cameras said:” Both sides have a responsibility to ensure drivers can carry out their business without having to resort to exceeding the speed limits. We know time is money, but the human cost of accidents and the expense of repairing damaged vehicles is too high if employees are involved in a crash.”

A leaflet explaining the responsibilities of employers to their work force is being distributed to companies in a mailshot and via a county business magazine. Incorporated into this are the hidden costs to vehicles via wear and tear and the benefits of cutting speeding such as cheaper insurance premiums, lower fuel bills and a drop in stress among employees with less sick leave taken.

The leaflet also has a tear off section for employees with top tips to help them keep their speed in check. Additional copies of this section are available on request if employers wish to distribute them to their workforce.

Tea continued: “While we appreciate that not all HGV drivers exceed the speed limit, this sector is causing some concern. Speed monitoring of the A686 between Penrith and Langwathby showed that more than half of HGVs were driven over 50mph when their limit is 40mph. On the A69 at Low Row in North Cumbria where there have been a number of fatal accidents over the past 12 months, the fastest HGV was recorded at 64mph.

“Over the last 3 years HGVs have been involved in 35 fatal, 132 serious and 812 slight injury accidents in Cumbria, and while we are not having a witch hunt against these drivers, we need to address the concerns these figures raise,” he added.

End

Contact: Kevin Tea 01768 217791
]]> http://www.cumbriasafetycameras.org/index.php?news kevin.tea@cumbriasafetycameras.org Thu, 8 Jun 2006 00:00:00 GMT
To access RSS feeds the first thing you need is something called a news reader. This is a piece of software that checks RSS feeds and lets you read any new articles that have been added to them. There are many different versions, some of which are accessed using a browser, and some of which are downloadable applications. Browser-based news readers let you catch up with your RSS feed subscriptions from any computer, whereas downloadable applications let you store them on your main computer, in the same way that you either download your e-mail using Outlook, or keep it on a web-based service like Hotmail.

Once you have chosen a news reader, all you have to do is to decide what content you want to receive in your news reader, by finding and subscribing to the relevant RSS feeds indicated by an orange button that sometimes has RSS or XML on it.

If you have a PDA such as an iPAQ you can use a RSS reader such as NewsBreak from Ilium.

The URL is: http://www.cumbriasafetycameras.org/csc.rss
]]> http://www.cumbriasafetycameras.org/index.php?news kevin.tea@cumbriasafetycameras.org Tue, 2 May 2006 00:00:00 GMT
There will be an entry fee of £3 per adult and £1 for children. Children under 5 will be free. There is plenty of free parking. Each paying individual or family will receive a free programme, which contains a programme of events through out the day, hints and tips on safer riding/driving and adverts for local firms.

There will be a large selection of motorcycle dealers, local car dealers and owners clubs (both bikes and cars).

Various Training Companies will be represented as well as The Institute of Advanced Motorists.

All the Emergency Services will be represented and there will be a display of Police Cars and Motorcycles, including surrounding Forces.
The main attractions on the day will be :-
The Red Devils Parachute Display Team
The Globe of Death (Motorcycle Stunt Team)
Monster Trucks
Extreme Motorcycle Trials Display Team
Drag Bikes and Cars
Children’s Entertainment (Kids Quads, Bouncy Castle, Face Painting etc)
Plus many more
]]> http://www.cumbriasafetycameras.org/index.php?news kevin.tea@cumbriasafetycameras.org Wed, 23 Nov 2005 00:00:00 GMT
On Tuesday night alone, more than 150 drivers were detected speeding through the roadworks and in some instances the fog was so thick the cameras were unable to detect the shape of the offending vehicle.

Kevin Tea, Cumbria Safety Cameras’ communications manager, commented: “Speed limits are imposed on roadworks to protect the engineering teams. So far this year there have been four roadworkers killed and a further seven seriously injured in the UK. Driving at excessive or inappropriate speeds through roadworks with narrow carriageways with good visibility is hazardous; to do so in thick fog goes beyond the bounds of safe driving and is totally irresponsible.”

He added that he accident on the M42 in 1997 which involved 90 vehicles where vehicles were travelling too fast and too close for the foggy conditions should serve as a warning to drivers who failed to drive appropriately.
]]> http://www.cumbriasafetycameras.org/index.php?news kevin.tea@cumbriasafetycameras.org Mon, 21 Nov 2005 00:00:00 GMT
Employees who spend long hours driving to meet colleagues or clients cause around 1,000 deaths a year - almost a third of the UK's annual toll of 3,221 road deaths. The study says that these drivers break speed limits, get fined, pick up penalty points and crash more often than other drivers.

62% of those surveyed, from 23 companies in central Scotland, admitted they were often under time pressures while driving.

The study, Factors Influencing the Behaviour of People who Drive at Work, was published recently at an international conference on driver behaviour and training.

Steve Stradling , who led the research, blamed deadlines, work-related stress, fatigue, use of mobile phones and lack of driver training for staff. "Many respondents view the complex physical and mental task of driving as a time when they can think without distractions," the report concluded.
]]> http://www.cumbriasafetycameras.org/index.php?news kevin.tea@cumbriasafetycameras.org Mon, 21 Nov 2005 00:00:00 GMT
Statistics provided by the Traffic Management Officer for Cumbria Constabulary show that during the winter months there is a 33% rise in accidents in the mornings while the evening drive time period remains a peak period for accidents throughout Cumbria.

Kevin Tea, Cumbria safety Cameras Communications Manager commented: “We trialled the Redflex equipment in the early spring and felt it was suited to tackling the problems of excessive or inappropriate speed during the hours of darkness.

“It uses a soft, defused flash to capture images of the car and number plate while not causing any problems for the driver. One of our team stood in front of the equipment in a controlled environment while the flash was activated and suffered no lack of vision, so we are confident that the kit is perfectly safe,” added Tea.
]]> http://www.cumbriasafetycameras.org/index.php?news kevin.tea@cumbriasafetycameras.org Mon, 14 Nov 2005 00:00:00 GMT
In a survey carried out for Cumbria Safety Cameras people were asked if their awareness of the dangers of speed had changed in the past 12 months. Nearly half –44 per cent – reported that it had changed. In the 16-24 year old age group, however, this rose to 57 per cent.

“Although it is pleasing that awareness of the dangers of excessive and inappropriate speed is increasing, we have yet to witness this being put into practice with accidents involving young drivers between 16 and 25 accounting for almost 50 per cent of all fatal accidents in Cumbria between August 2004 and July this year,” commented Cumbria Safety Camera Communications Manager Kevin Tea.

“We have to transform awareness into action. Young drivers who are usually taught in daylight and on urban roads have no experience on driving at night on Cumbria’s rural roads and at this time of year there is the added hazards of leaves and lying water.”

The survey also asked respondents what group of drivers do you think are the worst for serious injury accidents where people may also have been killed. Eighty eight per cent of those questioned felt that younger drivers were to blame.

There is also a very strong belief that passengers in vehicles have a right to influence driver behaviour. Ninety five per cent of those questioned in the survey said that passengers have the right to tell drivers to slow down or drive in a more appropriate manner.

“One of the problems is that we have multiple fatalities among youngsters in one car and these could be avoided if one of them just had the courage to speak up and get the driver to behave in a more responsible manner,” added Tea. “By speaking up they can save lives.”

The survey, moreover, highlights that peoples’ driving patterns are changing because of the presence of the safety camera vans. Forty eight per cent across the board said that the cameras had changed the way they drove, with 59 per cent of those respondents in the 25-44 year old age group admitting such a change.

Support for safety cameras within Cumbria is also rising.

In the June survey, 70 per cent of respondents agreed that cameras were there to encourage drivers to keep to the limits not punish them. In the latest survey this had risen to 82 per cent.

In June 73 per cent of those questioned said that the primary aims of the cameras were to save lives. The latest survey shows this has risen to 80 per cent.
]]> http://www.cumbriasafetycameras.org/index.php?news kevin.tea@cumbriasafetycameras.org Mon, 31 Oct 2005 00:00:00 GMT
Cumbria Safety Camera spokesman Kevin Tea said: ”During tests we noted that there were multiple “offences” committed by a handful of drivers who knew the cameras were not fully functional. Those individuals had better be warned that they now face losing their driving licences within a week if they continue with this behaviour.”

The cameras are RedSpeed digital units that do not store offences within the camera housing but which are transmitted over a high-speed broadband telephone line to servers housed within the safety camera office at Carleton Hall, Penrith. The cameras are fitted with special anti-tamper devices that are linked to a police control system to prevent vandalism.
]]> http://www.cumbriasafetycameras.org/index.php?news kevin.tea@cumbriasafetycameras.org Fri, 14 Oct 2005 00:00:00 GMT
The average collisions over the winter months show a rise in accidents in the morning period associated with travel to work and school. More significantly, when the clocks first change during October statistics show a significant increase in morning collisions and a slight rise in evening collisions until we all get used to the period of the year.

Source: Cumbria Constabulary Traffic Management Officer]]> http://www.cumbriasafetycameras.org/index.php?news kevin.tea@cumbriasafetycameras.org Fri, 12 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT
Between August 1 2004 and July 31 this year, at least one driver between the ages of 16 and 25 were involved in 22 fatal collisions (48% of all recorded fatal collisions) and 101 serious injury accidents (33 per cent of all serious injury collisions).

In this age group, Allerdale District suffered the worst accident record with eight fatalities and 21 serious injury collisions during this period. Carlisle had seven fatal and 20 serious injury collisions; South Lakeland had 4 fatal and 22 serious injury collisions; Copeland had two fatal and 15 serious injury accidents; Eden had one fatal and 17 serious injury accidents; Barrow had no fatal but six serious injury collisions.

Breaking down the figures even further, 16-20 year old drivers were involved in 11 fatal, 56 serious and 338 slight injury collisions. Older drivers between the ages of 21-25 were implicated in 11 fatal, 45 serious and 253 slight injury collisions.

“To call this state of affairs a bloodbath may seem to be overly dramatic, but the figures speak for themselves,” said CSC communications Manager Kevin Tea. “We are witnessing a totally unacceptable level of fatalities and serious injury accidents among young drivers and passengers.

“There is only so much that the police and ourselves can achieve and we must start to look at how other influences can be brought into play to reduce this carnage and tragic waste of young lives,“ he continued.

”Passengers have the right to request the driver to drive in an appropriate manner. Parents, too, must accept more responsibility to ensure their children drive in a socially acceptable way. It has to be better to have a showdown than having to organise and attend the funeral of their kids and their friends.”
]]> http://www.cumbriasafetycameras.org/index.php?news kevin.tea@cumbriasafetycameras.org Tue, 9 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT
Following the WIA guidelines, the site has two views for the web site, standard and alternative, the latter using more contrasting colours, higher default font size and the main menu is fully expanded with no javascript to assist those with visual impairments to use the site.

The new-look site also includes a link to an on-line evidence viewing system that is to be launched in early September. When a motorist receives a Notice of Intended Prosecution the paperwork includes the address of the web site, plus security access codes to ensure total privacy. On accessing the on-line viewer the motorist can see full details of the offence such as site maps and photographs of the vehicle and the driver.

“Strangers to Cumbria may not know where a safety camera hotspot is by the name on the paperwork and the maps assist them identifying the location and the photographs will aid identifying the driver at the time of the offence,” said Cumbria Safety Cameras Communications Manager Kevin Tea.

“This is particularly useful when people share the driving on a long journey or where a number of drivers have access to a company vehicle. Allowing access to this information on-line will save time and money in answering queries from motorists wanting more information on the offence,” he added.

The site has more dynamic content providing information on aspects of the safety camera operation, plus sections on the prosecution process, motorcycling and young drivers, plus details of sites with maps and schedules. The latter has a WAP facility to allow drivers to receive information of where the sites are operating on their mobile phone.
]]> http://www.cumbriasafetycameras.org/index.php?news kevin.tea@cumbriasafetycameras.org Tue, 26 Jul 2005 00:00:00 GMT These were just two of the findings in a survey of Cumbria residents carried out on behalf of Cumbria Safety Cameras by CN Research during June 2005.

Other results included:

• More than three quarters of respondents agree that the use of safety camera should be supported as a method of reducing casualties.


• Two thirds of respondents agree that fewer accidents happen on roads where cameras are installed.


• Three fifths of respondents agree that cameras mean that dangerous drivers are now more likely to get caught.


• Nearly three quarters of respondents agree that the primary aim of safety cameras is to save lives.


• Just over a quarter of respondents said they had been caught speeding.


• Over half of respondents thought that safety cameras vans should be highly visible.

Cumbria Safety Camera spokesman Kevin Tea commented: “Some of the results were pleasantly surprising. While 45 per cent of those surveyed said that the use of cameras had made them change the way they drove, this figure rose to 58 per cent in the 16-24 age group, a sector we thought we may not have been getting through to. This age group represents a high proportion of those killed and seriously injured and we need to make them aware of their vulnerability.

“Also, 46 per cent of respondents said their awareness of the dangers of speed had altered in the past 12 months; 60 per cent of those were female and 62 per cent were in the 35-44 age group,” Tea continued.

He also went on to say that attending the recent Cumberland County Show and RoadSafe event at Carlisle racecourse and talking to the members of the public demonstrated the majority of people thought that safety cameras were a good idea.

“Naturally there were people who disagreed with their use but by talking to these individuals and taking on board what they had to say we can strengthen how we operate and try and change people’s misconceptions. However most people who we spoke to were in favour of the work we are doing,“ said Tea.
End

Note to editors:
CN Research carried out a simple random sample survey of the people of Cumbria. We interviewed 400 respondents who were chosen at random from a telephone book. CN Research ensured that quotas were apportioned to each age group and gender so that the survey would be representative of Cumbria. 400 responses gives a + or – error of 4.7% at 95% confidence levels.
]]> http://www.cumbriasafetycameras.org/index.php?news kevin.tea@cumbriasafetycameras.org Tue, 26 Jul 2005 00:00:00 GMT
Key results include:

The number of people killed in road accidents fell, by 8 per cent from 3,508 in 2003 to 3,221 in 2004. 34,351 people were killed or seriously injured in 2004, 8 per cent fewer than in 2003. There were 280,840 road casualties in Great Britain in 2004, 3 per cent less than in 2003.

Provisional figures indicate that road traffic levels were 2 per cent higher than in 2003 and consequently the provisional estimate was that the overall casualty rate per 100 million vehicle kilometres was 5 per cent lower than in 2003.

Child casualties fell by 3 per cent. The number of children killed or seriously injured in 2004 was 3,905 (down 5 per cent on 2003). Of those, 2,339 were pedestrians, 2 per cent down on 2003. 166 children died, 3 per cent less than in 2003.

Pedestrian casualties were 34,881 in 2004, 4 per cent lower than 2003. There were 671 pedestrian deaths, 13 per cent less than in 2003. Serious injuries fell by 5 per cent to 6,807.

The number of pedal cyclists killed rose by 18 per cent to 134 in 2004, about the same level as 2002. The number of seriously injured fell by 5 per cent to 2,174 . Total casualties among pedal cyclists fell by 2 per cent in 2004 to 16,648.

There were 25,641 two-wheeled motor vehicle user casualties in 2004, 10 per cent less than in 2003. The number of seriously injured decreased by 13 per cent to 6,063 and the number killed decreased by 16 per cent to 585.


The number of deaths among car users in 2004 was 1,671, 6 per cent less than in the previous year. The number of seriously injured fell by 7 per cent to 14,473. Total casualties among car users were 183,858, 2 per cent lower than 2003. Provisional traffic estimates indicate a 1 per cent rise in car and taxi traffic.

There were 207,410 road accidents involving personal injury in 2004, 3 per cent less than in 2003. Of these, 26,748 accidents involved death or serious injury.

In 2000, the Government announced a new road safety strategy and set new targets for reducing casualties by 2010. It wants to see:

40% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured in road accidents compared with the average for 1994-98;

50% reduction in the number of children killed or seriously injured;

10% reduction in the slight casualty rate, expressed as the number of people slightly injured per 100 million vehicle kilometres.

In 2004, the number of people killed or seriously injured was 28 per cent below the 1994-98 average; the number of children killed or seriously injured seriously injured was 43 per cent below the 1994-98 average; and provisional estimates show the slight casualty rate was 20 per cent below the 1994-98 average.]]> http://www.cumbriasafetycameras.org/index.php?news kevin.tea@cumbriasafetycameras.org