• Home
• Accessibility
• Contact Us
• Site Map
• Help

Dorset has successfully bid to run a scheme that could dramatically cut the number of deaths and injuries on the county’s roads – by increasing the number of safety cameras.

The government has approved a Dorset wide bid to take part in the National Safety Camera Initiative. It means that increased enforcement of speed limits will be paid for directly from the fines issued.

The number of safety camera sites in Bournemouth, Poole and Dorset is set to double, when the new campaign is launched later this summer. But organisers are stressing that the campaign will not be used to trap unwitting motorists.

Chief Superintendent Simon Merry, from the Dorset Partnership, which put together the successful bid, said:

"Research supports the fact that speeding is a common cause of death and serious injury on our roads, and by bringing down the speed of motorists in the county we will reduce the tragedies that occur every day.

"We are not in the business of persecuting drivers but we are determined to make Dorset a safer place. Camera use is designed to educate as well as detect motorists and enforcement will be concentrated where most collisions happen. We will be painting the cameras bright yellow and publicising the sites in advance. The cameras will be used as a deterrent"

A partnership involving Dorset County Council, Bournemouth Borough Council, the Borough of Poole, and Dorset Police put together the bid. They will work together to reduce the county’s toll of collisions. Last year 39 people were killed and 375 were seriously injured on Dorset’s roads.

There are currently 51 safety cameras sites in Dorset, more than half of them in the Bournemouth and Poole area. The scheme will enable the Dorset Partnership to operate a total of 113 fixed camera sites and provide six mobile units. The mobile units will tour a total of 50 different collision spots countywide.

Councillor Tim Palmer, Leader of Dorset County Council said:

"We want to make Dorset safer for drivers and for pedestrians. Pedestrians will be safer if drivers slow down. This is why the cameras will be sited at places with known collision records. By making the cameras as obvious as possible and giving plenty of warning we are doing everything we can to persuade motorists to slow down."

Councillor Bob Chapman, the Leader of Bournemouth Council said:

"The number of collisions on our roads caused by speeding has become quite unacceptable. As well as the trauma to victims and their families, the cost of dealing with the collisions is running into many millions which we can ill afford. The increase in safety cameras in Dorset is a welcome move towards reducing collisions caused by speeding."

Councillor Brian Clements, Leader of the Borough of Poole said:

"Speeding is something many of us do without thinking and which can have tragic consequences. While the scheme will concentrate on certain collision spots we want to give a clear message that by reducing speed and sticking to the limit we can all help to prevent collisions and minimise the risk for everyone using the roads."

In 2000 an estimated 109 lives were saved as a direct result of introducing safety cameras in eight pilot areas elsewhere in the country. Neighbouring counties Wiltshire, Somerset and Hampshire have all just joined the same scheme.