The Government has confirmed that local authorities have the full power to install speed cameras proactively without the impetus of serious injuries or fatalities.
Speaking in the House of Commons, transport minister Lilian Greenwood clarified the Government's position, stating that ‘it is a myth to say that [local authorities] cannot act until there have been a number of fatalities; they already can.’
Ms Greenwood added that the Department for Transport's guidance on the use of speed cameras and red light cameras for traffic enforcement was 'not mandatory' and authorities 'can set their own deployment criteria if they wish’.
She suggested councils should ‘demonstrate a local systematic approach to site selection’.
She also said that, while 20mph speed limits can be beneficial, the Government was not in favour of blanket 20mph limits on all roads, arguing that local safety cases and support should be taken into consideration.
At a separate debate, MPs called for local parish authorities to be given greater powers over the safety of their road networks.
Responding to this, Ms Greenwood said that ‘local highway authorities have the power to set speed limits on their roads but it was ‘crucial that local highway authorities engage with local partners, including parish and town councils, when deciding on the measures to take’.
However, she confirmed the Government has ‘no plans to devolve those powers further to parish councils’.
Image credit: Shutterstock @Corner Photography
