I am currently investigating the erection of a Fixed Speed Camera which was recently installed in Clovelly Rd near its junction with Moreton Park Rd Bideford Devon
I have been liaising with the National Highways Agency, who have given some advice I was approached to ascertain if the Government Guidelines have been complied with.
The former National Safety Camera Programme had formal requirements for speed camera deployment and operation. But this programme ended in 2007. From the first of April 2007 new guidelines were provided under (Department for Transport) DfT Circular 01/2007. These guidelines were published for camera partnerships to follow at their discretion.
Although there is no requirement for camera partnerships to follow these guidelines. Devon County Council through the Vision Zero South West camera partnership does continue to follow the guidance of DfT Circular 01/2007. But with local camera partnership agreed modifications that were adopted to help cater for more recent Home Office Type Approved camera technologies like average speed cameras and combined red light and speed cameras. And also to support the annual Devon & Cornwall wide collision investigation processes that analyse a five-year collision period. Although it is an exception to the norm. The camera partnership can consider a camer request from one of the five partnership highway authorities (including National Highways) to operate speed cameras that may be required for other community concern or engineering design purposes.
These include when and who by the Survey was carried out, that showed that 20% of drivers exceeded the limit at the site
Under DfT Circular 01/2007 speeds at a proposed fixed speed camera site that is located within a built-up area, should show free flow 85th percentile traffic speeds that are at or above the ACPO enforcement threshold for the speed limit. The local camera partnership guidance adopts this guideline, with the exception that it can be applied to all vehicles or to a single vehicle class if required. The Devon County Council surveyed 85% percentile speed for all vehicle classes on Clovelly Road, was 37.6mph. Which is above the ACPO threshold for the 30mph limit.
Accident History should show that at least two collisions resulting in people Killed or Seriously injured per Kilometre in the 3 years prior to the erection of the Speed Camera at that location.
Under DfT Circular 01/2007 the accident history should show at least 3 Killed or Seriously Injured (KSI) collisions per km in a baseline period of 36 months. The local deployment guidance looks for at least 3 KSI collisions per km in the baseline period. Or in the absence of 3 KSI collisions, that the number of slight and serious accidents meets the PIC total value of 20 per km (where a KSI=5 and a Slight=1). The local baseline period also considers an initial baseline period of 60 months to correlate with our other annual collision analysis and investigation processes and with our online published collision statistics. The camera at Clovelly Road is bi-directional. To the east of the camera site there had been three serious injury collisions and two slight collisions recorded over the 60 month period 2019-2023. And to the west there were seven slight injury collisions. In total there were twenty people injured in these collisions, including six that were seriously injured.
The Records that show if there were Community Concerns and / or Public opinions which were fed into the decision whether a Speed Camera was needed at that location.
Although there are community concerns that have been received about speeding on this road particularly from residents and parents to the east of the camera site on the approach to the school 20mph limit, these community concern were not part of the decision-making process. The decision to propose this camera site was made on the basis of traffic speeds and speed related injury collisions
I need to know when the survey was carried out, to ascertain that 85 percent of vehicles were noted as over the speed limit.
The speed survey was undertaken over the period 14th -22nd September 2023. The 85th percentile speed figure, is the speed at or below which 85 percent of all vehicles are observed to travel.
Also the dates of the alleged accidents which took place causing. serious injuries / death of road users at that site, from other enquiries, it is not known of such incidents or accidents, in the time frame quoted
All collision record dates and locations are available to view at: –