Sammy Wilson MP MLA

“Wilson welcomes East Antrim road death figures”

The MP for East Antrim, Sammy Wilson, has welcomed statistics released from the PSNI which show that there were no deaths on the roads of East Antrim in the year 2007-2008.

Speaking from Westminster, Mr Wilson said:

“These figures are surprisingly good when we consider the high volume of traffic on our roads in East Antrim and the extra traffic which the Port of Larne brings with it. It also demonstrates to us that for the police, road safety is a priority.

However, the lesson from these figures is that the way to reduce death and serious injury on our roads is through a proper police presence, not through speed cameras. We need effective road policing, not a quick fix revenue raising measure like speed cameras which do not take into account the time of day, the condition of the road or volume of traffic. Speed cameras are not effective in combating road deaths as they measure only speed and do not take into account these other factors.

It is not speed that kills, but the inappropriate use of speed and public money would be better spent on policing rather than erecting speed cameras, whose primary purpose is to raise revenue, not to reduce speed.”

ENDS

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