Safety concerns as speed cameras lie idle

Almost half (46%) of speed cameras across England and Wales aren’t in action, prompting concerns for road safety. The research, carried out by dashcam and speed camera detector tech firm Road Angel via a freedom of information (FOI) request, also indicated that all eight fixed speed cameras in Northamptonshire were inactive. And Gwent in south east Wales only had one active speed camera out of the 31 in place.

Of the 13 police forces that responded to the FOI request, six had over half of their speed cameras standing inactive at the time of the reply.

In Derbyshire (113), Essex (110) and Devon & Cornwall (110) – the regions across England with the most speed cameras – each had at least 40% incapable of catching speeding drivers.

Derbyshire has more speed cameras out of action than any other region (93), with only 20 of the 113 across the county capable of catching speeding motorists, leaving 78% of the devices inactive. The West Midlands had only 5% of their speed cameras standing inactive, with 62 out of 65 devices in operation.

Leicestershire has a total of 18 fixed speed camera sites, yet only four of these are working, leaving 78% of the devices inactive.

Cambridgeshire has 17 inactive speed cameras out of the 46 within the region (37% inactive). Neighbouring Bedfordshire has just 8% devices that are operational.

Only two areas – Dyfed-Powys in Wales and Suffolk – had all speed cameras working. But both police forces have just four devices.

Road Angel said UK police force, councils and the Government must take action to ensure fixed speed cameras are fully operational – and pointed to government research showing exceeding the speed limit or travelling too fast is a contributing factor in 25% of collision fatalities.

Gary Digva, company founder of Road Angel, said it was shocking to see how many speed cameras across the country are standing inactive.

He warned that it was letting speeding motorists get away with driving dangerously, rather than encouraging Brits to stick to the correct speed. Digva added:

We are urging local authorities and police forces to ensure speed cameras are fully working to catch speeding motorists who may be driving recklessly by breaking the limit.

This in turn will help to reduce the number of dangerous drivers and help to keep our roads safer for everyone.

As it stands, speeding on the road is a contributing factor for 25% of fatalities – and motorists who break the legal limit need to be penalised so they further recognise the importance of sticking to the speed limits. However, with such high numbers of inactive devices, thousands of drivers are getting away with speeding every day.

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