CRASHES that result in serious injuries or fatalities have fallen at about half of Oxfordshire’s speed camera sites, analysis of figures by the Oxford Mail has shown. New figures for 66 fixed county cameras show there were fewer of these collisions from 2008 to 2010 at 31 sites compared to the three years before cameras were installed in the 1990s. But serious smashes went up at 14 sites and stayed the same at 21. It comes five months after the devices were reactivated since Oxfordshire County Council turned them off to save cash. Chief Insp Gill Wootton, of the Thames Valley Police roads policing department, said: “Speed cameras are used across the country to help in the reduction of collisions and in lessening the impact of collisions when they occur.” Analysis of single cameras does not make the case for their effectiveness, she said. Countywide, serious smashes were down from 92 in the three years before cameras were installed to 58 from 2008 to 2010. But some cameras are not improving safety (see table, left). A device on the Cowley Road in Oxford, for example, was installed in 1998 after four people were killed or seriously injured (KSI) between 1995 and 1997. But there have been five KSI between 2008-10 while smashes that resulted in less serious injuries rose from 31 to 35. There were no serious smashes before the Cumnor Hill, Oxford, camera was installed in 1994 but two since 2008 to 2010. Mark McArthur-Christie, of the Oxford group of Institute of Advanced Motorists, said authorities were concentrating too much on speed. He said: “Understanding what makes for safe driving is not compliance with a fixed and increasingly arbitrary speed limit. “Speed should be set relative to the road conditions.” The overall reduction at camera sites reflects safer UK roads, he said. The mid-1990s KSI average of 544 fell to 396 in 2010, the latest figures available. More stringent driving tests and new technology such as traction control had cut smashes, he said, along with driver education initiatives. Mr McArthur-Christie said: “It is great that collisions are falling, we are doing something about the driver, but by God we could do so much more.” Randomly re-testing drivers and the Government lobbying insurance companies to offer lower premiums to those with advanced driving qualifications are just two ideas, he said. Rodney Rose, the county council’s cabinet member for transport said: “The only people that don’t like them are drivers who have been caught out. “Drivers feel they have something to lose so their speeds come down, which we know has an effect on road safety.” Hugh Jaeger, county representative for the British Motorcyclists Association, said the reduction was all the more remarkable as traffic has risen since the 1990s. He said: “Speed cameras have an effect, better brakes have an effect, better driving tests have an effect. They are not the only tool in the box. “Those that call them cash machines for the police have got it wrong because they don’t make money. That is why the council turned them off.” The Government has asked police forces to publish more data, including number of prosecutions and drivers recorded for each camera. But Thames Valley Police said it is waiting for direction from the Association of Chief Police Officers. What do you think? Send your views to letters@oxfordmail.co.uk or Letters to the Editor, Oxford Mail, Osney Mead, Oxford, OX2 0EJ. Views can be left online at oxfordmail.co.uk.