County's first fixed speed camera set to go live

Although the camera is at a fixed location it can be moved to another site if needed, police said

The first fixed-location speed camera in North Yorkshire has been installed and is ready to go-live on Tuesday.

It is located on the A64 in Sherburn, between Malton and Scarborough, as part of a three-month trial.

Until now, North Yorkshire Police has used mobile speed camera vans to patrol the county's road network, but these can only operate during daylight hours.

"We have real challenges around serious collisions and sadly, people killed on our roads. Speed is a high contributing factor to that," said Supt Mick Roffe, the force's head of specialist operations.

"My message to those people who speed in this county routinely is: 'We will be here to catch you when you do speed and this technology will help us do that all times of day and night, and you're not going to always know where it is.'"

Supt Mick Roffe said more speeding drivers would be prosecuted thanks to the new technology

Sherburn was chosen for the trial based on collision statistics and data from mobile speed camera vans.

However, Supt Roffe said the technology could be moved to different places to stop drivers learning the location of the camera.

"Do not speed wherever you are in the county, because this kit may be round the corner from you," he said.

'Speeding mindset'

Gillian Taylor, who co-ordinates the Average and Fixed Speed Cameras for North Yorkshire campaign group, welcomed the announcement.

"To get this far is incredible and it feels great that we are actually being listened to and the authorities are taking this seriously," she said.

However, Ms Taylor, who lives in Cowling, raised concerns about the "halo effect", where drivers slow down for a camera, then speed back up.

"It's great that it's being trialled, but I wonder how success is going to be measured when I look at our neighbouring counties that are rolling out average speed cameras to rural villages like we live in," she said.

Gillian Taylor has campaigned for fixed and average speed cameras to be installed in North Yorkshire

Ms Taylor said the historic lack of fixed or average speed cameras in North Yorkshire had resulted in a "speeding mindset" in the county.

"It's actually embarrassing that our neighbouring counties are taking proactive steps around average speed cameras and North Yorkshire wasn't doing it, but they're at least trialling one, and that's great."

York and North Yorkshire's elected Labour mayor David Skaith said speeding along the stretch of the A64 was an "incredible problem".

"Time and time again, people tell us that their roads don't feel safe so having cameras like this is going to help create safer communities, safer streets," he said.

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