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71% believe cameras help contain speed, save lives: 999 survey

In a survey of 420 motorists conducted by 999 Magazine, the official English monthly of the Ministry of Interior, a vast majority (71 per cent) of respondents say that they don’t see speed cameras as a money-making scheme.

Close to 300 of the 420 respondents agree that most traffic accidents occur due to excessive speed, and that speed cameras help contain speed, thereby saving lives

However, about 20 per cent of the respondents said that they saw speed cameras as mere tools to increase government revenue while a little over 9 per cent said installation of speed cameras is a form of indirect taxation.

A report from 999 Magazine shows that fixed speed cameras are expensive to instal and maintain. On an average, a speed camera can cost anywhere between Dh150,000 and Dh400,000 to instal, depending on its location, and can cost up to another Dh150,000 a year to maintain, besides the infrastructure set-up cost. With such a high expense, it is impossible for all speed cameras to ‘turn a profit’.

Lt-Colonel Awadh Saleh Al Kindi, Editor-in-Chief of 999 Magazine, said: “The real value of the speed cameras is in the socio-economic savings. Speeding accidents result in most deaths on UAE roads, as well as damage to property. The combined cost of these accidents completely dwarfs the revenue generated by speeding fines, emphasising the need for stricter speed monitoring and trashing the argument that speed cameras are there for profit.”

The findings of a study by the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, presented in April 2012, showed that car accidents cost the UAE nearly Dh17 billion in socio-economic losses in just three years (2009-2011).