Speed cameras across Avon and Somerset were being switched back on from today with the one on the A4 at Saltford the first to be reactivated.
It marks the beginning of a road safety project that will see a total of 29 static cameras become operational again for the first time since 2011.
They were switched off when Government funding was withdrawn for the joint local authority and police Safety Camera Partnership.
Avon & Somerset Police’s Road Safety Superintendent Richard Corrigan said: “Our message is loud and clear – drivers should assume that all roadside fixed cameras are now operational and to drive accordingly. Drivers who choose to exceed the speed limit can expect to be caught and prosecuted if you exceed the legal speed limit.”
The camera locations will be publicised on the force’s website but not the dates that they become live again.
The force bought six cameras for £1 each from Somerset County Council and 11 from South Gloucestershire Council. Two are owned by Bath and North East Somerset Council, one by North Somerset Council and nine remain the property of Bristol City Council.
The cameras will be switched back on in a phased programme, exact dates yet to be confirmed, over the coming weeks and months. Revenue raised will be used to fund their maintenance and enforcement.
Supt Corrigan said: “The ongoing work we have undertaken with our partners to reinstate static speed cameras in the force area is based on national research showing that cameras add value to road safety – 27% of priority issues raised with the police relate to speeding vehicles in our communities. Also, there was camera infrastructure worth more than £2m lying dormant on the roadsides in the force area.
“We believe that the static cameras can be operated in a cost-neutral way and that reactivating them for use alongside our mobile camera vans will help in making our roads safer.”
Police & Crime Commissioner Sue Mountstevens said: “I know from speaking to people how important road safety is to them and many have been pressing to have the cameras in their communities turned back on as soon as possible.
“Static cameras will complement the work of the mobile speed enforcement vans and motorbikes that already work across Avon and Somerset and together they send a powerful message to drivers that speeding is being taken seriously.”
