The North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner has responded following reports that Bedfordshire Police were planning to raise money by having zero tolerance to speeding.
Bedfordshire Police and crime commissioner, Olly Martins, had proposed to permanently switch on the variable speed cameras on the M1 motorway as a way to help funding. Mr Martins has also said that he is open to the idea of advertising on police vehicles or uniform.
Although the speeding fines would go to central treasury, local forces can benefit when speeders elect to go on a speed awareness course.
Julia Mulligan, Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire, said:
The public for North Yorkshire have time and again told me, both in person and during our consultations, that road safety is a top priority. That feedback, combined with North Yorkshire’s high numbers of people who are killed and seriously injured on our roads, means there is no question we need to take more action. In fact, in my recent road safety survey, 72 percent believed that more needed to be done to improve road safety through education and enforcement.
I have approved the number the number of Safety Camera Vans to be upped from one to six in the last few years, giving the police much greater scope to cover what is the biggest rural force in the country. Our vans also don’t just look at speed, but safety more generally, such as not wearing seatbelts or using mobile phones. Any money which the vans do raise, which is only about £30 from each Speed Awareness Course, goes straight back into road safety. That in turn means the Vans are self-funding, and any money generated above and beyond that can go to schemes like Community Speed Watch, which gives local people their own means to educate the public about speeding.
Any approach to just generate money is frankly misguided. Safety, and specifically reducing the number of people killed or injured on our roads, has to be the focus. Vans in North Yorkshire will never be placed anywhere just to raise money. A Safety Camera Van Annual Report will be released before the end of the year which will be fully transparent about the Vans activities, money they raise and what it is spent on.
