Skip to main content

Less support for speed cameras in 2013

The use of speed cameras are supported by the majority of the motoring public, according to the latest research published today by road safety charity, the Institute of Advanced Motorists, with eighty per cent of motorists accepting their use. However, this is down one per cent on last year’s survey. Seventy nine per cent think that speed cameras are useful to reducing injuries, a fall of six per cent from the 2012 findings. There is still scepticism amongst the motoring public. Over half of drivers (
November 19, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
The use of speed cameras are supported by the majority of the motoring public, according to the latest research published today by road safety charity, the 6187 Institute of Advanced Motorists, with eighty per cent of motorists accepting their use.  However, this is down one per cent on last year’s survey.  Seventy nine per cent think that speed cameras are useful to reducing injuries, a fall of six per cent from the 2012 findings.

There is still scepticism amongst the motoring public.  Over half of drivers (52 per cent) do not believe that cameras are only sited at locations where accidents happen.  Almost half of drivers think that raising money is the main purpose of safety cameras.

Scottish motorists are the least likely to have someone in their household with speeding points but they are also the most against speed cameras and speed awareness courses.
Support for speed awareness courses has increased.  Three quarters of motorists support the use of speed awareness courses up from 70 per cent in 2011.

IAM chief executive Simon Best said: Speed cameras are a successful road safety solution at key crash sites and it’s important that the government and safety camera partnerships work to maintain a positive view so that the rising suspicion amongst motorists does not become a trend. During times of austerity, drivers are increasingly seeing speed cameras as revenue raising apparatus and are sceptical of their importance for road safety.”

Related Content

  • September 17, 2014
    Apple iWatch to significantly impair driving performance says IAM
    Leading road safety charity the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) is warning drivers about the potential risks associated with smart watches while driving. The latest piece of wearable technology from Apple will allow users to make and receive calls, check messages and monitor their health by operating the device on their wrists. However, the IAM warns that this could significantly impair driving performance – a major cause for distraction and road accidents.
  • January 23, 2012
    Speed reduction measures - carrot or stick?
    In Sweden, marketing company DDB Stockholm employed a mock speed camera as part of a promotional campaign for automotive manufacturer Volkswagen. The result was worldwide online interest and promotion of the debate over excessive speed to the national level. A developing trend in traffic management policy is to look at how to induce road users to modify their behaviour by incentivising change rather than forcing it through the application of penalties. There have been several studies conducted into this; an
  • September 15, 2016
    UK motorists ‘relax attitudes’ on distracted driving
    Research for the RAC’s Report on Motoring 2016 has revealed that for some, attitudes towards handheld mobile use have worryingly relaxed over the last two years. The proportion of people who feel it is acceptable to take a quick call on a handheld phone has doubled from seven per cent in 2014 to 14 per cent in 2016 and the percentage of drivers who feel it is safe to check social media on their phone when in stationary traffic, either at traffic lights or in congestion, has increased from 14 per cent in
  • March 3, 2016
    Top speeders exceeding 100mph in 30mph zones
    Five drivers have been caught travelling at more than 100mph on 30 and 40mph limit roads in England, according to the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM). A further two were caught travelling at over 70mph in these areas, which tend to be largely residential. The statistics were part of a Freedom of Information request by the IAM to every police force in Britain, asking for the location and speed of their top five highest recorded cases captured on safety cameras in their areas from 1 January 2015 to 3