North Yorkshire Councils Call for Fixed Average Speed Cameras

A collective of over 20 town and parish councils has called for the implementation of fixed average speed cameras throughout North Yorkshire. Department for Transport data indicates that road collisions resulted in 40 fatalities within the county in 2023, marking the highest count since 2017. Representatives from communities such as Ampleforth, Settle, and Shipton by Beningbrough have formally requested the mayor of York and North Yorkshire to introduce cameras for speed limit enforcement. Presently, the county lacks fixed cameras, with police relying on mobile units to apprehend motorists exceeding speed limits. Gillian Taylor, a road safety advocate based in Cowling, stated that efforts to deter speeding without the deterrent of fixed average speed monitoring were “not working”. Ms. Taylor elaborated, “There is a telegraph pole at the other side of the village that has had to be replaced four times in 18 months. We’ve had cars going through walls, on their roofs, but by the luck of the universe there hasn’t been a [death], and it seems bizarre to be waiting for that.” Gregory Butt, who chairs Gargrave Parish Council, expressed that the absence of fixed cameras in the county was “frankly embarrassing”. He added, “There’s a dogma in North Yorkshire which needs to be broken, and the only people who can do that are the mayor and the deputy mayor, and police need to actually be given the tools to tackle this.” Lucy Straker, representing the road safety charity Brake, suggested that reduced speed limits should also be implemented. She commented, “We want to encourage local authorities such as North Yorkshire to look at other areas like in London and Wales where they’ve put in 20mph speed limits around residential areas.” Jo Coles, the York and North Yorkshire Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime, affirmed that road safety constitutes a “hugely important” concern for communities throughout the region. She was slated to convene with the York and North Yorkshire Road Safety Partnership to “hear about the work being done to make our roads safer, so we can better understand what else we might need to look at in York and North Yorkshire going forward”.