The partners:
East of England Ambulance ServiceEssex County CouncilEssex County Fire & Rescue SeviceEssex PoliceHighways AgencySouthend-on-Sea Borough CouncilThurrock Council

Font size: A | A | A

Safety Cameras

Safety cameras have been used in Essex as part of the Road Safety Strategy since the early 1990s.
Currently there are 101 fixed speed cameras, 26 red-light cameras and 6 mobile camera vans operating in Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock.

Safety cameras are used to help deter speeding and jumping red-lights on roads which have a casualty and speeding problem.
Safety cameras are just one of the many road safety measures used in Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock to help reduce casualties.

Essex also have two average speed cameras systems, these are used to regulate speed and flow along a stretch of road and calculate the average speed of vehicles that are travelling the route, prosecuting those who exceed the speed limits.

There are four different types of safety cameras operating within Essex,

  • Fixed speed camera sites – used at sites where collisions are clustered around a particular point or location
     
  • Mobile speed camera sites – used at sites where collisions are scattered along a length of road or where enforcement is needed at specific times of the day or year. This type of enforcement can also be used to complement fixed enforcement.
     
  • Average speed camera sites (fixed) – this type of enforcement has the effect of calming the speed over a longer distance and can be used at sites where a significant number of collisions are scattered along a length of road and for major road works enforcement.
     
  • Red-light camera sites – used at traffic-light junctions where collisions are recorded because of vehicles failing to comply with a red traffic light.

Benefits of safety cameras
Securing a higher level of compliance with existing speed limits has the potential to:

  • Reduce casualties, in terms of number and severity
  • Reduce the demand on the Health Service
  • Reduce conflict between motor vehicles and other road users
  • Create a calmer and more free-flowing traffic environment
  • Improve the quality of life in local communities