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 They were switched off when Government funding was withdrawn for the joint local authority and police Safety Camera Partnership.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They were switched off when Government funding was withdrawn for the joint local authority and police Safety Camera Partnership.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

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