Skip to main content

High-mileage drivers more dismissive value of speed cameras, says survey

High-mileage drivers are more likely than any other type of road user to think speed cameras have ‘little or no influence’ in reducing the numbers of road casualties in the UK, according to a white paper issued by the Institute of Advanced Motorists’ (IAM) Drive and Survive division. The paper, Speed Cameras – The Views of High Mileage Drivers, also found 28 per cent of high-mileage drivers have a negative view of speed cameras – 10 per cent more than other drivers. It also found that more than half o
July 27, 2015 Read time: 3 mins
High-mileage drivers are more likely than any other type of road user to think speed cameras have ‘little or no influence’ in reducing the numbers of road casualties in the UK, according to a white paper issued by the 6187 Institute of Advanced Motorists’ (IAM) Drive and Survive division.

The paper, Speed Cameras – The Views of High Mileage Drivers, also found 28 per cent of high-mileage drivers have a negative view of speed cameras – 10 per cent more than other drivers.

It also found that more than half of those surveyed felt they were little more than a ‘money making tool’ – more than another category of road user.

The white paper was commissioned by IAM Drive & Survive, the commercial division of the IAM which provides driver risk management services including tuition for companies and fleets.

The report stated with more than 6,000 speed cameras of various descriptions across the UK in operation, the time was right to ask if there was any greater acceptance of them amongst drivers who spend the greatest amount of time on the roads.

Some 60 per cent of respondents to the survey thought there were other reasons why speed cameras had been installed, other than at accident black spots, compared to 39 per cent of medium mileage drivers and 47 per cent of low-mileage drivers.

High-mileage drivers are also the most split on whether the money generated from speed awareness courses should be used to operate speed cameras.

And just over a quarter of high-mileage drivers believe speed cameras have not assisted in reducing the number of road casualties – the highest of any group. Some 27 per cent of high-mileage drivers held this view, compared to 20 per cent of medium-mileage drivers and just 16 per cent of low-mileage drivers.

When asked how acceptable is it for authorities to use speed cameras at the side of the road to identify vehicles involved in speeding offences, 28 per cent of high mileage drivers said it was unacceptable, compared to just 18 per cent of medium-mileage drivers and 17 per cent of low-mileage drivers.  

The IAM Drive & Survive survey took in the views of 1,001 high, medium and low-mileage drivers. While just one in six low mileage drivers is sceptical of the positive influence of speed cameras, one in four high-mileage drivers is.

A survey three months ago by IAM Drive & Survive found  86 per cent of fleets have experienced an accident in the past 12 months, while 100 per cent of fleets have had an accident where one of their drivers was ‘at fault’ (3).

And government figures showed that between 2008 and 2013, 3,493 people were killed in accidents involving a driver/rider driving for work, including 515 in 2013.

993 Driving for Better Business says up to one in three road crashes involves a vehicle being driven for work. It added that every week, around 200 road deaths and serious injuries involve someone at work.

Sarah Sillars, IAM chief executive officer, said: “It is clear that there is a very big task when it comes to making high-mileage driver see the worth of measures to reduce over-speeding. While we know that speeding is not the only cause of accidents and injuries, it is one of the major ones.

“Employers need to work with their employees to ensure that they appreciate the part they play in making our roads safer.

“The figures we have found show the great extent to which high-mileage and company drivers are involved in incidents. Therefore this educational task needs to happen sooner rather than later,” she added.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Building the case for photo enforcement
    October 26, 2016
    As red light enforcement is returning to some intersections and being shut down at others, new evidence has been released backing the safety campaigners, reports Jon Masters. In 2014, 709 Americans were killed in red-light-running crashes and an estimated 126,000 were injured according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
  • Road deaths still not reducing, says PACTS
    August 5, 2016
    The road casualty statistics for Great Britain just released by the Department for Transport (DfT) are worrying in a number of ways, says the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS). They show no reduction in drink-drive deaths since 2010 – remaining at 240 deaths a year and no reduction in total road deaths and a two per cent increase in serious casualties in the past 12 months (to 31 March 2016). Seven police forces, including the largest ones, Metropolitan and Greater Manchester
  • Singapore installs more speed cameras
    January 30, 2015
    A total of 20 new digital speed enforcement cameras are to be installed at 11 locations in Singapore from March until the end of 2015. Making the announcement at a news conference to announce annual road traffic statistics for last year, Deputy Superintendent and Head of Research, Planning and Organisational Development Weng Wanyi said: “Traffic Police hope that with the cameras and sustained engagement efforts, motorists will understand the importance of keeping to the speed limits, will enhance their o
  • New technology revolution in urban traffic control?
    January 26, 2012
    Urban traffic control is a well-defined and practised art. Nevertheless, there are technologies here and on the horizon with the potential to revolutionise how we do things. By Gavin Jackman and Andrew Kirkham, TRL, and Jason Barnes. Distributed monitoring and control of urban traffic networks and flows is nothing new. PC-based Urban Traffic Control (UTC) is now well established and operating in many locations around the world. However, it is worth considering the effects of the huge growth in the use of sm