As part of a review process which has been in development for more than 18 months, the South Yorkshire Safety Camera Partnership will be trialling turning off a total of five fixed speed cameras in the Rotherham area.

From Monday 29 November the cameras at these sites will be temporarily turned off and bagged, with speed survey equipment put in place to monitor drivers speeds with and without the cameras in operation. If drivers speeds remain consistent without the cameras in operation then the cameras may then be removed as part of the review.

Chief Inspector Stuart Walne, Head of Roads Policing for South Yorkshire Police said: “Speed cameras are in important asset in helping to reduce the number of people killed and injured on South Yorkshire’s roads. As a result of the cameras and other road safety initiatives we have seen the numbers of people killed and seriously injured on the county’s roads drop to their lowest levels since records began in 1979.

“The cameras are funded by the taxpayer and it is therefore important that they are strategically placed in the areas where they are needed most. Through this review we have identified sites that no longer meet our requirement criteria and will be reviewing these sites accordingly. Alternative solutions for decommissioned sites may include use of mobile camera vehicles instead of fixed site cameras, vehicle activated signs and road engineering solutions”.

Barry Smith, Partnership Manager for the South Yorkshire Safety Camera Partnership said: “As part of the review process, sites that have been identified for possible decommissioning will have speed surveys carried out prior to their removal. The cameras will be bagged to determine the affect on speeds of switching off the cameras. If drivers speeds increase once the trial has started then the cameras will not be removed”.

“Some of these sites are legacy sites which were in place before the Safety Camera Partnership came into being. As a partnership it is important that the cameras are placed in the areas where the casualty data and speeding statistics show that they are needed most.”

Following this review of camera sites in the Rotherham area further sites across the rest of the county will be reviewed in the same way over the coming months.