Lincolnshire speed camera vans fitted with CCTV to curb driver abuse

Mobile speed camera vans are being fitted with CCTV due to a rise in abusive and threatening behaviour towards operators

Speed camera vans in Lincolnshire are to be fitted with CCTV following a rise in abusive and threatening behaviour towards operators.

The county's road safety partnership said it had recorded "multiple incidents" of drivers confronting staff in the past year.

It said CCTV cameras would improve safety and help with prosecutions.

John Siddle, from the partnership, said: "It's getting to a point where we have to take action."

He said prior to 2020 he was only aware of "one or two incidents" of drivers confronting camera operators in the previous 15 years.

"We never used to have anything like this," he said.

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The Road Safety Partnership said it had seen multiple incidents over the past year where a driver had confronted a member of staff

He said the cameras would also be used to target people deliberately obstructing speed cameras.

In one recent case a motorist from Scunthorpe was accused of parking his vehicle in front of a camera van in Scotter for two hours. The man later accepted a police caution.

Mr Siddle said there had also been an increase in drivers speeding during lockdown.

He said mobile speed camera vans had been used during the first lockdown to deliver PPE, but "we had to drag them back" in a bid to "curb speeds".

"We had one recorded speed of 153mph on the A1, which is just mind-blowing really," he said.

"We thought lockdown would be a quiet time, but we were proven absolutely wrong."