The latest county-wide campaign by from the Kent and Medway Safety Camera Partnership aims to remind drivers that safety camera vans are enforcing mobile phone and seat belt offences as well as speed, and to raise awareness that insurers are increasing the premiums of first-time offenders by up to 20%.
The campaign sees information boards going up at fixed camera sites in each district with the message ‘Enforcing mobile phones, seat belts and speed’, with more information and camera locations available at www.kmscp.org
Although the yellow fixed cameras enforce only speed, the camera vans operate at all fixed sites, as well as mobile locations (where you see the black and white signs but no fixed camera).
The LTI 20-20 laser camera records the road scene and can zoom in to see what the driver is doing. If drivers are seen using a phone or not wearing seat belts, the video is tagged and saved to a DVD, and the video is re-examined back at the central ticket office. The lens of the LT1 20-20 is capable of spotting offences up to 1k (more than half a mile) away.
The penalties for a speeding offence or mobile phone offence are a £60 fine and three penalty points, and for a seatbelt offence it is a £60 fine. If motorists are committing two or more offences at the same time then it can result in a court summons.
Chief Inspector Andy Reeves, Head of Roads Policing and Chair of the Safety Camera Partnership said “Safety cameras are located at sites where people have been killed or seriously injured, so by reducing the number of offences at these sites we hope it will reduce the number of collisions and casualties.
“There are four main factors that contribute to collisions that end with serious consequences: speeding, being distracted (for example, talking on the telephone), not wearing a seat belt and impaired driving (driving under the influence of drink or drugs). The use of camera vans is addressing three of these factors.”
In addition, a recent report from AA Insurance shows that even for a first offence, insurance companies are now increasing premiums. Historically, most insurers have overlooked a first offence, but that has changed. All insurers on the AA’s panel, which includes giants such as Zurich, Axa, Provident, RSA, CIS, Allianz and Lloyds of London, have now increased premiums following a first conviction.
Ian Crowder of the AA said: "We have seen a sharp swing in attitude by insurers towards offences such as speeding of late. They used to be more relaxed about it, with most ignoring a first offence. But our latest research reveals that all are now loading premiums by up to a quarter even after a first offence."
LV= is among insurers to take a firm approach to any mobile phone offence, refusing to offer automatic renewal quotes in most cases.
Mr Fernandes said: "We view this offence very seriously. The driver is clearly distracted. He or she may be texting, playing games or picking up emails. They are a risk not just to themselves but to other road users, and we want to send a signal that this behaviour is socially unacceptable. So in many cases we will not offer to quote where someone has a mobile phone conviction.”