Do Speed Cameras Save Lives? (research)

This study by researchers from the London School of Economics analysed collision outcomes before and after speed cameras were installed at 2,500 sites in England, Scotland and Wales.

The analysis found that from 1992 to 2016, the number of collisions fell by between 17% and 39% – and fatalities by between 58% and 68% – within 500 metres of speed cameras.

The lead researcher Cheng Keat Tang says that adding another 1,000 cameras would produce annual savings of up to 190 deaths, 1,130 collisions and 330 serious injuries.

However, the report points out that the benefits of speed cameras are highly localised and dissipate over distance – with a slight increase in collisions observed at distances beyond 1.5kms from the camera sites.

The report says this could be due to a ‘kangaroo effect’ as drivers brake suddenly before the camera to avoid fines and speed up beyond camera surveillance.