Originally deployed following complaints of ‘road racing’, and after a successful two-year trial, an average speed camera system on the A10 major trunk road in Hertfordshire has been made permanent.
In a £320,000 (US$390,000) project by the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire, David Lloyd, and Hertfordshire Police the temporary cameras have now been upgraded and will remain on the stretch of road between Cheshunt to Broxbourne. They were first installed in July 2016 following a successful £128,000 (US$156,000) bid to the Commissioner’s Road Safety Fund after reports of groups of motorists racing each other along the dual carriageway. Now another £202,000 (US$246,100) has been spent from the fund to upgrade the camera set up and pay for future maintenance.
A total of £340,00 (US$414,260) has been spent on the scheme, all paid for by traffic fines. The Road Safety Fund uses money generated from motorists who have committed driving offences and been ordered to pay court costs following prosecution, or who have attended speed awareness courses. Since the cameras have been installed hundreds of motorists have been fined for exceeding the 70mph (113km/h) speed limit. The A10 system feature the widely-used Vector SPECS speed enforcement cameras and back-office processing software from Jenoptik Traffic Solutions UK.
“The trial of the cameras was a major success and there is no longer a problem with groups racing along that section of the A10. It was obviously very dangerous for themselves and other road users, as well as causing noise and anti-social behavior for local residents,” explained Lloyd. “These successful bids to my Road Safety Fund show local people do have a say on the problems that affect them and can help me make a real difference to their lives. My Road Safety Fund will soon be opening for bids for its fourth year and we will be welcoming bids from across the county for schemes to make our roads safer.”
Broxbourne Safer Neighborhood team inspector, Gerry Harrison, said, “The safety of those who use our road networks forms part of our wider strategy to maintain a safe Broxbourne. We’re very pleased that the cameras, which have made a real difference to the safety of all road users on the A10 and the quality of life of the surrounding community, have been made permanent.”
