Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant has backed Conservative proposals to cut the number of speed cameras on the region’s roads.
Under the proposals, a Tory Government have said local councils would need to find the funding to install new cameras and prove that they cut road accidents.
And Mr Fabricant backed the plans from his party officials – claiming road safety needs to have more of a focus on education rather than punishment.
He explained:
“The number of speed cameras in Staffordshire and the West Midlands is excessive. There are currently 68 cameras in Staffordshire and 289 in the West Midlands. A Conservative Government would slash these numbers and instead use vehicle activated warning flashing signs and better education.
“We’ll abolish those ghastly and unaccountable safety camera quangos and force councils to publish the revenue raised from each individual speed camera.
“And there will be far tougher controls on rogue wheel clampers who operate on private land and have made motorists’ lives a misery.”
As well as tackling clampers, the Lichfield MP also gave his support to plans to ease the lives of motorists. He said:
“Getting around has become a daily grind under the present Government. Law-abiding drivers have to avoid endless road works, rogue clampers extorting cash and speed cameras designed to raise money rather than improve safety.
“We will increase the maximum level of fines for over-running road works and speed up the delivery of schemes that need a permit. The current rules only require utilities to give notice of work rather than apply for a permit to carry them out at a certain time. We will give local authorities the power to put tougher restrictions on work on key routes, including piloting lane rental so utilities firms will have to pay a rental fee for they time they occupy the road.
“We will also introduce a national code of conduct for those who dig up our roads, drawing on the code successfully agreed in London, to cover issues including signage, inspection, deliveries and the removal of spoil outside peak times. This will all make a huge difference to the current disruption we all suffer from.
“Conservatives will use practical, common sense measures to tackle the congestion that is costing the West Midland’s economy millions. There should be more openness on how transport decisions are made that affect all our lives.”
