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Cameras back on....
tegwin - 1/4/11 at 11:30 AM

Well that didnt last long did it... speed cameras back on in Oxfordshire

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-12928747

Interesting statistics there...lol

Daddylonglegs - 1/4/11 at 11:50 AM

Didn't take them long to realise how much money they were going to lose....sorry, I meant how much safer it is with them switched on

Ben_Copeland - 1/4/11 at 11:50 AM

News this morning said a load more cameras were going OFF!

speedyxjs - 1/4/11 at 11:55 AM

Its a bit inconclusive isnt it? Especially as there were actually less accidents in total on the roads of oxfordshire while the cameras were off!

flange nut - 1/4/11 at 12:05 PM

Yes and how many of the accidents involved excessive speed?

Geoff

vinny1275 - 1/4/11 at 12:10 PM

The statistics are completely misleadnig (surprise, surprise) - I read a brilliant piece about this in the register (I think, might have been pistonheads tho) a year or so ago - accident rates have been on an upward trend for a number of years, across camera and non-camera sites (indicating that cameras have no effect at all on the number of accidents) and serious injury rates has been taking a downward trend as cars become better able to protect their occupants. Any six-month snapshot is quite likely to be a statistical anomaly in the overall trend - as the 6 month period they've chosen included the 1st half of winter, perhaps the weather that year was worse than the folowing year or vice versa, affecting the accident rates. They also don't take into account any change in the number of journeys taken - if there was a 10% rise in accidents, what's to say there wasn't also a 10% rise in cars on the road?

tegwin - 1/4/11 at 12:20 PM

Is this a really weird april fools joke.>?

hughpinder - 1/4/11 at 12:49 PM

From the national statistics office bare figures:

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=1208

Basically car and passenger deaths dropped 5% pa every year from the mid 50s to 1990, then sharp drop 1990/92 then flat. Pedestrian deaths have dropped consistantly.

for in depth analysis see:
http://www.safespeed.org.uk/effects.html

Hugh

MikeRJ - 1/4/11 at 01:33 PM

quote:

Police said since then deaths and serious injuries on the roads had increased


quote:

in the six months after they were switched off there were 70 slight injuries, 13 serious injuries and no fatalities


quote:

In the same period the year before there were 55 slight injuries, 13 serious injuries and no fatalities


Maths was never my strong point, but I make that no change in either deaths or serious injuries in areas covered by cameras. Are the police suggesting that after the well publicised switch off last year, peoples driving became worse only at non-camera sites? Seems very unlikely.

It's completely ridiculous comparing two single intervals like that anyway, regression to the mean causes any anomalies in one period to look much worse, when they may average out the same or better over a useful time period. In fact this serves as much stronger proof that the cameras have no effect on death rate, which is hardly a surprise. The spin doctors continue to ply their trade however...


[Edited on 1/4/11 by MikeRJ]

Ninehigh - 1/4/11 at 04:25 PM

They do realise that a slight injury could be a half-cut bloke on a pushbike falling into the grass verge and cutting his arm on a bramble?

Daddylonglegs - 1/4/11 at 05:02 PM

quote:
Originally posted by hughpinder
Pedestrian deaths have dropped consistantly.
Hugh


I think you'll find that's Natural selection