Latest news with #speedcamera
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
Is this the UK's prolific speed camera? Notorious snapper at blind spot wracked up over £1million in fines in 10 months before being CHOPPED down by renegade motorists
A Labour council says it can't afford to replace a vandalized £20,000 speed camera which has brought in more than £1m in fines whilst penalizing drivers for a new controversial 20mph blanket policy. The camera was one of hundreds installed across Wales in 2023 after the new 20mph speed limit was brought in. It caught more than 8,000 drivers in just 10 months on the A4102 in Merthyr Tydfil making it the most prolific speed camera in Wales. But in darkness on November 26th last year a group calling itself South Wales Bladerunners chopped it down. Hard-up Merthyr Tydfil Borough Council says it doesn't have the money to replace the missing camera, even though it's a huge earner for The Treasury. A council spokesperson said: The pole and camera was damaged illegally by a group calling themselves the 'South Wales Bladerunners' and we had to remove it completely for safety reasons. 'The maintenance and replacement of the infrastructure would be at a cost to the Local Authority and we do not have the money to replace it. 'We do not receive any of the funds from fines issued so there is no maintenance budget.' The Council said it reported the act of criminal damage to South Wales Police but it's understood no one has been prosecuted. If every driver snapped by the camera was fined the minimum of £100 it would have netted an estimated £1,120,000 in the 14 months it was in operation. It means The Treasury has missed out on £640,000 since the vigilante group chopped it down. The A4102, known as Swansea Road, in Merthyr Tydfil, is one of dozens of 20mph zones in Wales under review after public protests. The Welsh Government, at the time led by Mark Drakeford, brought in a default 20mph speed limit on restricted roads in September 2023. There was a huge public outcry and almost 500,000 people signed a petition to 'rescind and remove the disastrous 20mph law'. Many of the people who signed felt it was a huge money-making scheme for the cash-strapped Welsh Government. They argued that many of the new 20mph zones, including the A4102, were not in built-up residential areas or accident blackspots. Go Safe, the agency that operates speed cameras in Wales, say they are not designed for income generation. A spokesman said: 'Speed cameras play an important role in reducing the number of people killed or injured on Welsh roads. 'They are installed by local authorities in areas with the highest risk and are paid for using public money. 'They are designed to save lives and when they are damaged by criminals, more public money has to be spent to repair or replace them.' Meanwhile drivers are still being hit by huge fines and losing their licenses after being caught by the speed camera that no longer exists. One driver was caught doing 29mph just a few days before the camera was removed but the case only came to court last month. The man, from Merthyr Tydfil, said: 'It was chopped down nearly eight months ago because so many were angry about the new 20mph limit. 'But drivers caught before it was removed are still being prosecuted. 'Driving at over 20mph is against the law one day and the next day you can do 30mph on the same stretch of road. 'That doesn't seem like justice to me, especially as the council are considering putting it back to a thirty.' The driver, who didn't want to be named, was fined a total of £450, including prosecution costs and a court surcharge after totting up 12 points. He was let off a six-month driving ban because of the hardship it would cause to his family but was told he would be banned if caught again.
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Irish Times
Dublin city's first static speed camera introduced in Dolphin's Barn
Dublin city's first static speed camera will commence operation in Dolphin's Barn from next Friday, said Gardaí. Vehicles detected driving in excess of the posted speed limit will be subject to prosecution from midday on August 1st. 'Prosecution of speeding offences takes place by Fixed Charge Notice (FCN),' Gardaí said. The current FCN is a €160 fine accompanied by three penalty points. Dolphin's Barn was identified as part of a wider national analysis as a road which could benefit from the implementation of a safety camera. READ MORE 'The location was selected based on fatal and serious injury collision data from the last seven years and speed data, as well as feedback from stakeholders,' Gardaí said. The family of Brazilian carer Josilaine Ribeiro, who was killed at Dolphin's Barn bridge in November 2023 while cycling to visit a patient, had previously called for road safety improvements in Dublin. [ Garda revokes more than 900 speed camera fines on stretch of N25 due to 'human error' Opens in new window ] Speed surveys on Lower Crumlin Road and at the Bridge over the Grand Canal at Dolphin's Barn undertaken as part of the UCD WeCount Traffic Impact data project in the six months before Ms Ribeiro's death had found more than 100 cars an hour were breaking the speed limits. Dublin City Council (DCC) said it was 'pleased to see the introduction by An Garda Síochána of the first ever static speed camera within the Council area'. 'The Council worked closely with An Garda Síochána to facilitate the installation and initial operation of the camera. DCC said it will continue to work with An Garda Síochána 'on road safety and measures which can help to improve road safety for all'.
CTV News
4 days ago
- Automotive
- CTV News
Speed cameras reduced speeding in school, community safety zones by 45 per cent: SickKids study
A speed camera is seen on a Toronto street in this file photo. School and community safety zones with speed cameras saw a steep drop in vehicle speeds, a decline researchers believe will help reduce collisions and injuries on Toronto streets, a new study by the Hospital for Sick Children found. The study reviewed vehicle speeds before, during, and after the installation of Automatic Speed Enforcement cameras in 250 school and community safety zones across Toronto between July 2020 and December 2022. It found that the proportion of vehicles speeding in those areas was reduced by 45 per cent. 'Importantly, the effect of enforcement was greater for higher initial vehicle speeds,' the study's authors noted. According to the report, there was an 84 per cent reduction in vehicles exceeding the speed limit by 15 km/hour or more, and an 88 per cent reduction in vehicles exceeding the speed limit by 20 km/hour or more. 'Lower vehicle speeds give drivers more time to observe pedestrians and react to their presence, reducing the likelihood of a collision,' the authors said in their analysis. 'In the event of a collision, lower speeds significantly reduce the kinetic energy and, therefore, reduce the chances of severe or fatal injury to a struck pedestrian.' It is the second time that the Hospital for Sick Children has found a drop in vehicle speeds where speed cameras are placed, with its last study being released in 2023. Both studies used data from the same time period. Speed cameras have become the subject of much debate in recent months by members of the public and even Toronto city council, which is considering a new rule that would prevent drivers from racking up tickets at a single location before receiving notice in the mail. Coun. Anthony Perruzza, who pitched the motion, recently questioned the efficacy of speed cameras, calling them more of a 'speed trap' than a public safety tool. If approved, the city would cap how many infractions a vehicle owner can receive from a single location before being formally notified. Earlier this month, a speed camera on Parkside Drive was cut down for the sixth time in nine months. One of the authors of the study, Linda Rothman, who is an associate professor at Toronto's Metropolitan University's School of Occupational and Public Health, said the pushback against speed cameras is concerning. 'They are extremely effective,' she told CP24 on Friday morning. 'We do know that these cameras are placed around schools and community safety zones and that actually for older kids, injuries are the largest cause of death and motor-vehicle collisions are the greatest contributor.' She said data by Transport Canada has indicated that a quarter of fatal collisions are caused by speed. 'The bottom line is we know these (speed cameras) work and we know that people are speeding,' she said. 'People must just recognize that they need to slow down. If they are doing speeding over and over and over again, then there is no recognition that actually their behaviour is creating a lot of carnage on the streets.'
CTV News
21-07-2025
- Automotive
- CTV News
City of Barrie testing four new locations for photo radar cameras: Here's where
Municipal Speed Camera Testing signage in a school zone on Livingstone Street in Barrie, Ont. Motorists driving through several community safety zones in Barrie may have noticed new signage warning of automated speed enforcement (ASE) cameras - but the cameras aren't issuing tickets just yet. The City of Barrie installed 'Testing' signs at four school zone locations where photo radar camera technology is being prepared. The locations include Grove Street East near Maple Grove Public School, Livingstone Street near Monsignor Clair, Livingstone Street near Ford/West Bayfield Elementary School, and Rose Street near Barrie North Collegiate Institute. According to Tom Hanrahan, the city's traffic services supervisor, the signage is part of a phased implementation approach that lets motorists know where the cameras will be located before enforcement begins. 'The City doesn't yet have an estimated date for activation at these locations,' Hanrahan noted, emphasizing the current signage is for testing purposes only. Once active, the cameras will automatically capture images of vehicles exceeding the speed limit in designated school zones, and a provincial offences officer reviews the photos to issue tickets by mail. The initiative is aimed at reducing speeds in areas with high pedestrian activity, especially during school hours. In Barrie, school zone speed limits typically drop to 40 km/h between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday from September to June. The City confirmed that outside of those hours, including during the summer, the speed limit returns to the regular posted limit for that road.
BBC News
17-07-2025
- BBC News
'Public should have been told about North Yorkshire speed camera'
More should have been done to inform the public about a fixed speed camera trial in North Yorkshire before it began, a council boss has said. The camera was installed on the A64 in Sherburn, near Malton, on 30 June and was due to go live the next day. However, just hours before the switch on, the camera was toppled in an act of of highways and transport Malcolm Taylor said: "Given the profile and interest that a fixed camera trial was likely to generate, I agree that more ought to have been done to advise the local community ahead of its going live date." North Yorkshire councillor Michelle Donohue-Moncrieff, who represents the area between Scarborough and Malton, raised concerns about the transparency of the a meeting yesterday, she said: "The location of the camera, just before a junction with traffic lights where cars must naturally slow down, has prompted genuine questions from the public."She asked that the evidence for assessing potential sites for a fixed camera and the outcome of the trial be made publicly available. Taylor said it was National Highways which manages the A64, rather than North Yorkshire added: "As this council is only responsible for the local road network, we have had no involvement in the decision-making process around the fixed camera trial, the site selection process, or the trial in any way."However, he recognised the concerns and agreed more ought to have been done to inform the public and the area's elected representatives. According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, North Yorkshire Police's Assistant Chief Constable Ben Moseley said the location on the A64 was chosen due to the high volume of speeding offences captured by mobile added: "When working in tandem with fixed cameras, they can make a significant contribution towards safety by moderating a driver's speed in the local area."The force informed the public about the fixed camera the day before the trial was due to start. Supt Mick Roffe previously said: "The fact that we are promoting the exact location of this camera shows that this isn't about a quick way to generate money, it's about enforcing the 30mph limit on a route which has historically seen several serious and fatal collisions." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
