Editorial | Wednesday, 11 March 2009

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Speed that pays

The recent proliferation of speed cameras on some of our high-speed roads has undoubtedly angered motorists who do not relish the prospect of killing their speed under pain of a pecuniary fine.
It stands to reason that speed cameras, whose ultimate intention should be that of saving lives by getting motorists to slow down, are important ancillaries in the fight against speed. The Malta Transport Authority has stood by its argument that saving lives is a priority, which is why it supports the installation of the new speed cameras. There is no doubt that improving safety on our roads is a must.
In recent years, the new driving test for budding motorists has produced a crop of new drivers that are equipped with a better sense of responsibility on Maltese roads. The stringent rules and tougher requisites for passing a test that has failed thousands of youngsters, has meant that driving a car can no longer be taken lightly. The new driving test has hopefully produced better drivers who take road safety seriously.
But the story behind speed cameras also shows a different picture to the local enforcement system that commissions these machines for our roads. It is a picture we are growing quite accustomed to: the interests of the private sector, blurred by the legal mandate of local councils to ensure order on Maltese roads.
As a MaltaToday analysis last Sunday showed, speed cameras are potentially just a sneaky trick to raise hundreds of thousands, if not millions, for private companies which supply and service the speed cameras.
The same could be said for the local councils, which receive a substantial, albeit smaller, cut of the fines. But there is an important aside to the matter. It is no secret that several high-profile councillors do not appreciate the efforts of wardens inside their localities. Being privately employed, it is often suspected that wardens are constantly urged to issue as many fines as possible, to ensure a higher payout to the companies that employ them.
A cursory look at the gamut of contraventions and infringements listed on the local enforcement system website illustrates the extent to which the public can get fined for the most spurious contraventions – such as washing your car and leaving the dirty water to run out onto the street.
The same can be said about speed cameras. It is now proven that the bulk of the fine, some two-thirds of it, for a speeding contravention and other contraventions recorded by the prying CCTV cameras in our streets, end up in the pockets of the three firms that supply the cameras and process the data for the contravention.
These firms obviously have their own costs, and they render a service to the local councils by updating the cameras’ software, repairing them and replacing them when necessary, and monitoring the entire system.
But what prompted the recent introduction of the eight new speed cameras? Indeed, many motorists argue that the Santa Venera speed camera, with a lower speed of 60kph, will slow down traffic on a road from which no right-minded pedestrian would ever dare to cross. Not forgetting the presence of another speed camera, set at the national speed limit, just further up on the Mriehel bypass.
The crux is evidently the gains that can be reaped in the first year of the installation of a speed camera. When new cameras are set up, motorists tend to be forgetful of their presence and they will easily breach the 60kph limit. The first year is proven to deliver peak earnings to councils and the private firms alike.
The new speed cameras come just a year before a current five-year contract between the local councils and the service providers for the cameras and wardens comes to an end. The word is that competition is setting in for the 2010 contract, which will see councils renegotiating their contracts once again, this time with new bidders. So far, the majority of the councils, save for Valletta and Floriana, have been serviced by just two warden agencies. Another company enjoys a monopoly in processing and issuing the fines.
Councils which accepted to install the speed cameras have spotted an opportunity to rake in the thousands they need to carry out their daily business. For the private firms that supply the cameras, this will be a good year before their contract is up for renegotiation.
It is for this reason that motorists should rightfully question the utility of these speed cameras, and petition their local councils for answers. Motorists suffer unjust expenses due to the dire condition of our roads; but now they also face the questionable installation of speed cameras that seem to be just yet another excuse to reap in more money from taxpayers.
Safety is paramount, but we cannot allow local councils to feign ignorance at the clear money-spinners that wardens and speed cameras are to the private companies that employ them.

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