Warwickshire is installing its first average speed schemes in an attempt to improve traffic flows and air quality as well as safety.
Jenoptik SPECS cameras are to be installed along sections of the A435, A446, A426 and A428 and will be operational by next summer.
Warwickshire County Council said these routes have been chosen because of a high number of personal injury collisions caused by excessive vehicle speeds. Over a five-year period, 129 personal injury collisions have been recorded along these routes.
Wallace Redford, the council’s portfolio holder for road safety, said: ‘We identify patterns of collisions and then analyse the best and most cost-effective ways of preventing those collisions. The average speed enforcement cameras will not only improve safety and save lives, but also manage traffic flow, which in turn leads to reduced traffic congestion and improved air quality.’
Speaking on behalf of Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership, Chief Inspector Faz Chisty, said: ‘These four new average speed camera routes are a fantastic boost for people in Warwickshire. Speeding in local communities is one of the main concerns the police are asked to deal with and our data tells us that speed cameras are effective.
‘In Warwickshire, in 2019, 45,783 people were caught speeding in the county and even in 2020 during lockdown with fewer vehicles on the road, 33,640 people were caught speeding in Warwickshire so your chances of being caught breaking the law are high.’
Geoff Collins. deputy managing director of Jenoptik, which has installed more than 200 SPECS average speed schemes in the UK over the past 20 years, said: ‘It is clear that average speed cameras are now a go-to solution to make our roads safer.
‘When installed as part of a casualty reduction scheme, statistics show our schemes are startlingly effective, cutting the number of killed and seriously injured people by an average of 50%. They are also shown to lead to fewer emissions, meaning better air quality.’
