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Having read the Safety Camera Handbook for 2005/2006 I note that covert speed enforcement is permitted and is detailed in sections 3.4 and 3.5. The handbook states that partnerships are not permitted covert enforcement but that the police are permitted covert enforcement (though such fines may not be netted off). Section 3.5 explicitly states that partnership cameras may be used for such enforcement. As the letter from the Department of Transport stated covert speed enforcement is permitted to prevent excessive speeding. Page 11 of the handbook specifies 15mph over the limit as being excessive speed. This means that covert enforcement may be used to deter drivers doing 45mph or faster in a 30mph zone. I believe that Derbyshire Constabulary has a statutory duty to use all means at its disposal to enforce speed limits. For example the Human Rights Act, Article 2 states "you have the absolute right to have your life protected by law" - this is exactly the purpose of speed limits. I believe such a covert enforcement policy would be extremely popular with both non-vehicular road users and law abiding drivers. Section 6.3 of the handbook specifies how 85th percentile speeds are to be measured. It explicitly states that only "free flowing traffic speeds" should be included - "congested periods in urban areas should be discounted". As I said in my previous letter this explains why the 85th percentile quoted for Kedleston Road (and presumably all other roads in Derby) appear so unusually low compared to what is observed. Please could you explain how the 15% of exceptional sites are currently selected (i.e. those sites that do not qualify for fixed/mobile cameras as core sites in section 3.3 of the handbook)? Please could you detail where such fixed/mobile exceptional sites currently are located - especially those that have been selected on the basis of "community concern"? Is Derbyshire Constabulary considering a Community Speed Watch program similar to the one in Staffordshire? I.e. where members of the public have been trained in the use of handheld radar guns and are able to report violations to the police? This would allow communities that believe they have a speeding problem to be able to make them safer themselves. I believe that this would be geatly appreciated in communities that currently have very little or no speed enforcement at present (e.g. most villages in Derbyshire). I can think of no other preventable criminal act other than speeding that routinely causes so much death, injury and personal misery. All road users should be able to use the roads free of fear and anxiety. |