Speed cameras do cause jams

www.guardian.co.uk-transport-Story-0,2763,1436617,00.html

Mark Townsend, transport correspondent Sunday March 13, 2005 The Observer

Speed cameras are a key contributor to Britain's traffic congestion problems and the technology to replace them already exists, according to the government's newly appointed 'jambuster'. In his first major interview since being appointed to tackle Britain's gridlocked roads, Derek Turner said a device that automatically reduced the revs of a car engine offered an alternative way of slowing traffic.

Speed governors, similar to that used in coaches and lorries, could help prevent the traffic jams caused by drivers braking sharply as they approach a camera.

'Speed cameras do cause congestion,' said Turner, who was influential in introducing London's congestion charge when he ran street management at Transport for London.

'There is a lot of sophistication in the electronics field that you could introduce.'

Among his initiatives is the introduction of 1,250 'civilian officers' who will patrol motorways and A-roads with the power to direct traffic. The move is designed to free up police to concentrate on serious crime, although the civilian officers will not have the powers to monitor offences like speeding.

Turner, who officially takes up his post at the Highways Agency in three weeks, says commuters should stagger their journeys to avoid travelling at peak times. He believes the number of firms adopting flexi-time means commuters should not be constrained by traditional working hours.

Motoring organisations have been pressing for the school run to be staggered to alleviate jams.

'We are trying to operate a 24-7 network and that will give us some breathing space for the long-term,' said Turner, who will be responsible for 4,800 miles of motor ways and trunk roads in England. These roads carry one-third of all traffic and two-thirds of all road freight.

New figures by the transport information service, Trafficlink, show that a quarter of Britain's main roads suffer from traffic jams for an hour each day, compared with less than 10 per cent in Germany.

The role of the speed camera and their effect on congestion follows research released last week by the RAC Foundation, which found that the cameras caused most problems when they were obscured by a dual carriageway underpbutt.

Other causes pinpointed by the group include slow-moving vehicles moving into the fast lane and a police car on the hard-shoulder, a sight that rarely fails to cause drivers to brake hard

A 10-year analysis by Trafficlink found that traffic has increased more on motorways than other types of road, while average speeds at peak times are still lower than a decade ago. London, the West Midlands, the south east and the south west are the worst affected. During peak periods almost 30 per cent of a driver's journey is spent at speeds below 5mph and more than half the journey is spent travelling slower than 20mph.

The average motorway driving speed during the evening rush hour has fallen from 65mph to 58mph since 1995. Business groups say congestion costs the economy about £3 billion a year.

Turner's appointment follows a report by the government's spending watchdog which criticised the Highways Agency for failing to tackle jams because of a 'risk-averse' atbreastude to new ideas.

The National Audit Office said the UK had fallen behind the rest of Europe in adopting congestion-busting techniques such as variable speed limits, reversible traffic lanes and better use of motorway hard shoulders.