At last week’s full council meeting (catch up), the councillor for Binstead and Fishbourne, Ian Dore (Alliance Group) was praised for his research on the motion about mobile average speed cameras.
Cllr Dore was speaking during the debate on the motion that called for £300,000 to be spent acquiring mobile average speed cameras, an aim of the former Conservative council and renewed by the leader of the Isle of Wight Conservative councillors, Cllr Steve Hastings.
The councillor had received praise from other members because before he voted on the motion, he’d make the effort to speak to a number of Police officers seeking their views on the use of mobile average speed cameras.
Borrowed a speed gun
He started by explaining that he’d previously been involved with a community speed watch scheme,
“When I was considering standing for Binstead and Fishbourne, there had been two speeding petitions that had been ignored over the years, coupled with reports that it was still going on. I personally think you have to witness it yourself before committing, so I borrowed a speed gun in February and got out to see for myself.
“Over two weeks of gleaning results, in Binstead across the relevant roads reported, the observations were confirmed. The same for Fishbourne. So the thoughts of the community were 100 per cent correct with speeds of 50 to 70mph on Binstead Hill. Not ideal given the volume of children that frequent the Park, the Post Office and over a Pedestrian Crossing.”
Dore: “A square peg for a round hole “
Cllr Dore went on to say,
“My view of the funding of speed cameras is that its fundamentally flawed. Not least because they can easily be circumnavigated, but its simply not the best solution.
“I’m not shooting Cllr Hastings down on this, if anything, it’s good to see engagement and we communicated about it prior to the meeting. The issue is one of a square peg for a round hole.”
Increasing problem since loss of Police Road Traffic Unit
Explaining the loss of the Island’s Police Road Traffic Unit he continued,
“The Isle of Wight lost its Police Road Traffic Unit, some seven years ago and its also probably no coincidence that across the board from 2009 when austerity started, the positive results in speed reduction plateaued. Sadly from 2019, things have got even worse with such issues increasing steadily and by considerable numbers too.
“Looking at the Road Safety Foundation data, its clear to see that the Island has two persistently High Risks road. The A3055 and the A3054. The issues span from one end to the other, top to bottom. Throw in some medium risk roads and its clear that there is no one isolated area. We have 136kms of road that is persistently high risk or medium risk. Just because cameras could be an option, does not mean they are the best option.”
Taking issue to the PCC
Having spoken with Police officers on the ground, the solution to the rising problem of speeding came back to a reinstatement of the dedicated Road Policing Unit,
“After speaking to a number of Police officers who aren’t what you would call at ‘political’ level, the solution is always the same. Bring back a dedicated Road Policing Unit.
“That responsibility and indeed budget, falls firmly at the feet of the head honchos in the Hampshire Constabulary. To that end I’ve asked Donna Jones the Police and Crime Commissioner for a meeting to see what can be done to get it reinstated.”
Should be funded by Police budget
Cllr Dore continued,
“I wouldn’t rule out supporting some degree of budget coming from the Council to assist in getting this up and running; but lets be clear, it should not be for the local tax payer to provide a level of service when it should come from The Police coffers.
“The austerity cuts to Policing and many other services were short sighted and irresponsible. Now the negative results are really starting to be seen and with some new faces in the chairs, one hopes exceptions can be made and smarter decisions taken.”
Cameras a “one trick pony, barely with all four legs”
He went on to say,
“A dedicated RPU can also deal with drug and drink driving, cars not being safe for the road, anti social behavior, insurance dodgers and other issues. A speed camera is a one trick pony, barely with all four legs as they are so easy to avoid. As a first defense, I urge all councillors to set up a Speedwatch Campaign in the Communities they represent; whilst the appropriate committee discuss the options.
“The latter however, has to include Police participation to give it legitimacy and accuracy with officers being given freedom of speech. Not hushed up ‘from above’, because the gritty truth does not fall within a political narrative. The fact is, the Islands Police need more funding to provide the level of service that Islanders deserve.”
Cllr Dore finished by saying,
“Police officers and frankly, all blue light services are under extreme pressure to deliver what has been promised. Now is the time for those in very senior positions, to address the crisis. What has been taken away, now needs to be given back. And some.”
The amended motion
The motion put forward by the Conservatives last week to purchase the mobile average speed cameras – as agreed by the former Conservative Cabinet in November 2020 and as part of the approved budget in February 2021 – was amended by the Alliance Group.
Rather than just acquiring the cameras, the amended motion agreed to continue to develop a business case to investigate the costs and effectiveness of the cameras.
Cllr Daryll Pitcher (Vectis) abstained, Cllr Dave Adams (Alliance) voted against and all other councillors voted in favour of the amended motion.
