A52 Derby: Speed cameras lead to 20,000 fines in three years

Average speed cameras on the A52 in Derby were introduced in November 2020

More than 20,000 people have been given penalty notices for speeding on the A52 in Derby in three years.

On the stretch of the dual carriageway, between Pentagon Island and Spondon, average speed cameras were switched on in November 2020.

At the same time, the speed limit on the road was changed from 70mph to 50mph.

Spondon councillor Chris Poulter said the changes to the speed limit had "proved extremely positive".

Derby City Council put the cameras in for safety reasons, as there were 107 collisions on that stretch of road between 2013 and 2018.

An FOI request to Derbyshire Police from BBC Radio Derby found 12,309 people were caught speeding there in 2021.

In 2022, police issued 5,047 speeding notices for that stretch, and 5,296 between 1 January and 10 November 2023.

Derbyshire Police said for the past three years, people had been found driving on the A52 at speeds of up to 110mph, which is 60mph over the road's speed limit.

'Achieved its goal'

Conservative councillor for Spondon, Chris Poulter, who was in office when the speed cameras were introduced, said: "Speed checks are always a very emotive thing. There is no point putting a speed limit on unless you enforce it.

"In the long-term, the changes to the speed limit have proved extremely positive.

"The idea initially was around road safety. That seems to have achieved its goal in that the 50mph speed limit seems to be adhered to by the vast majority of motorists."

Ian Windmill, a retired roads police officer with Derbyshire Police, says it is a very busy urban road.

"With motorists, there are two ways of getting the message across - there is education and then there is enforcement.

"Ultimately, the fear of prosecution is a vast deterrent," he said.

He said if you averaged out the number of fines, "it's only 18 per day".