Mad Mullah is a failure

Fast on the heels of the number of speeding tickets rocketing comes this one. I've been telling the media that the mad mullah in North Wales is a first class idiot. Speed cameras DO NOT make the roads safer. Even the government's own statistics prove this.

However, more traffic police on the roads do make the roads safer. Sadly, the cost money while cameras earn money. Go figgure why we don't see more traffic cops on our roads.

It's a crazy situtaion it really is.

Story is from the Western Mail

Serious road accidents rise despite measures

A WELSH police force that prides itself on its firm approach to road safety and traffic policing has seen the numbers of people seriously injured in collisions rocket by almost a third.

The numbers of people seriously injured on North Wales’ roads between April and December of last year was 345, compared with 268 over the same period in 2007 – an increase of 29%.

The figures on fatalities in North Wales have fluctuated very little, with one person less being killed over the same period in 2008 than in 2007.

Politicians and motoring organisations yesterday said the serious injury statistics show the force’s reliance on speed cameras as a major weapon in its road safety arsenal is flawed. They called for a change of approach with more police officers patrolling roads to spot errant drivers instead of what they regard as a preoccupation with cameras.

Conservative AM Mark Isherwood said North Wales Police – headed by the so-called “Mad Mullah of the Traffic Taliban”, Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom – has issued more speeding fines per head of population than any other UK force. Fines rose eight-fold in less than a decade between 1997 and 2005, while during the same period police in Gwent reported a fall from 5,263 to just 506.

North Wales AM Mr Isherwood said focusing very heavily on speed can be “unsafe and inappropriate”.

“These statistics reinforce the need for a proportionate and intelligent approach to motoring laws rather than a one size fits all policy. The policy has lost public confidence and alienated a lot of people who have otherwise never been in trouble with the law and have looked to the police as trusted public servants.”

The Association of British Drivers (ABD) said the numbers of seriously injured people have risen while traffic levels have fallen due to the recession.

Department for Transport (DfT) figures showed a 2.2% decrease between July and September of 2008 in traffic levels. This followed a 0.5% decrease between April and June.