Cameras do cut traffic injuries and deaths

Sydney: Speed cameras may be seen as an annoyance by many drivers, but a study of international research showed yesterday that this kind of monitoring of roads does cut the number of traffic injuries and deaths.

Preventing traffic injuries is a global health issue, with the World Health Organisation predicting that by 2020, road crashes will move to third from ninth in the world ranking of burden of disease. Each year about 1.2 million people are killed in traffic accidents and between 20 and 50 million injured or disabled.

Researchers from Australia's University of Queensland set out to check the impact of using speed cameras by analysing 35 studies from Australia, the United States, Canada, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Britain, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Norway.

Reduced crashes

They found speed cameras cut the average speed by 1-15 per cent and the percentage of vehicles that exceeded local speed limits between 14 per cent and 65 per cent.

The numbers of crashes in the areas of the cameras also fell by between 8 per cent and 49 per cent, while fatal or serious injury crashes reduced by between 11 per cent and 44 per cent.

"While there is variation in the results, the overall finding is clear — speed cameras do reduce injuries and deaths," said researcher Cecilia Wilson in a statement. Wilson did point out that none of the 35 studies were carried out in low-income countries where most road traffic crashes occur, and called for further research in these locations.