Skip to main content

Speed cameras switched back on in Avon and Somerset

Speed cameras across Avon and Somerset in the UK are beginning to be switched back on for the first time since 2011, marking the beginning of a road safety project that will see a total of 29 static cameras become operational again. They were switched off when Government funding was withdrawn for the joint local authority and police Safety Camera Partnership. The cameras will be switched back on in a phased programme, exact dates yet to be confirmed, over the coming weeks and months. Revenue raised from the
February 24, 2015 Read time: 3 mins
RSSSpeed cameras across Avon and Somerset in the UK are beginning to be switched back on for the first time since 2011, marking the beginning of a road safety project that will see a total of 29 static cameras become operational again.

They were switched off when Government funding was withdrawn for the joint local authority and police Safety Camera Partnership.

The cameras will be switched back on in a phased programme, exact dates yet to be confirmed, over the coming weeks and months. Revenue raised from them will be used to fund their maintenance and enforcement.

113 RedSpeed International is working in conjunction with Avon and Somerset police to switch the cameras back. The first camera has now gone live; the remainder will become operational in due course.

Outside of London this is the first implementation of RedSpeed’s new back office software suite, RedSpeed 360, a suite of software to download, view check, report and export offences to third party evidence processing systems. It is used to setup, configure and tailor RedSpeed Sites as well as retrieve statistical data from RedSpeed sites. One of its key features is that it can manage multiple sites from a single server, and if one site does go down, the remaining sites will continue to function normally.

Avon and Somerset Police’s Road Safety Superintendent Richard Corrigan said: “The ongoing work we have undertaken with our partners to reinstate static speed cameras in the force area is based on national research showing that cameras add value to road safety. 27 per cent of priority issues raised with the police relate to speeding vehicles in our communities. Also, there was camera infrastructure worth more than two million pounds lying dormant on the roadsides in the force area. We believe that the static cameras can be operated in a cost-neutral way and that reactivating them for use alongside our mobile camera vans will help in making our roads safer.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Sue Mountstevens said: “This is a positive move which will improve the safety of roads across Avon and Somerset. I know from speaking to people how important road safety is to them and many have been pressing to have the cameras in their communities turned back on as soon as possible. I’m pleased that I can now tell them they are back on.

“Static cameras will complement the work of the mobile speed enforcement vans and motorbikes that already work across Avon and Somerset and together they send a powerful message to drivers that speeding is being taken seriously.”

Related Content

  • Hosted civil enforcement system gains DFT manufacturer certification
    June 17, 2015
    Videalert’s new fully hosted civil enforcement solution, which enables local authorities to outsource the hardware and software required for civil enforcement, has gained Department for Transport (DfT) Manufacturer Certification.
  • ANPR shockwaves emanate from Royston ruling
    October 7, 2013
    Colin Sowman looks at how a ruling regarding ANPR cameras in a small English town could have wide-reaching implications. Superficially it was an easy decision: the local council and traders wanted, and were prepared to fund, automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras installed to deter crime in Royston, a small town (population 17,000) in rural England.
  • New drug-driving laws a ‘step forward for road safety’
    March 2, 2015
    Leading road safety charity the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has described the introduction of new drug-driving laws as ‘a big step forward for road safety.’ The legislation comes into force in from 2 March 2015 in England and Wales and is designed to catch people who risk other people’s lives by getting behind the wheel after taking drugs, and not those taking legitimate medicines that don’t impair their ability to drive. The new law sets limits at very low levels for eight drugs commonly associat
  • Growth of legislation in favour of US enforcement market
    February 1, 2012
    The automated road safety enforcement industry in the United States had a very robust 2010. The industry continued to grow to the point that providers now have nearly 5,000 cameras deployed in 25 of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, with more than 650 communities utilising such life-saving technology. Intersection safety cameras are the most common application but more communities are also implementing road safety camera programmes to deter excessive speeding. Deploying cameras to protect children