Backing for Newton Abbot speed camera which caught 6,000 drivers

A controversial Devon speed camera which caught 6,000 drivers going over a 30mph speed limit in its first three months has been backed by local councillors.

“Own the consequences of your actions and slow down!” Cllr Sally Morgan (Lib Dem, Bovey) told fellow members of Teignbridge Council.
The authority overwhelmingly rejected a motion by Cllr Phil Bullivant (Con, Bradley) calling on the council to ask the highways authority why the camera had been installed, who decided when and where it should be installed, and how many people had been issued with tickets for doing 35mph or less?
He also wanted to know if the installation in Ashburton Road met national standards for speed camera locations.
Cllr Bullivant told a full council meeting that a member of his family had been issued a ticket for driving past the ‘invisible’ camera at 34mph. The Association of Chief Police Officers sets a guideline of 35mph as the threshold for enforcement.
“People should not exceed the speed limits,” he said. “Speeding is unacceptable at any time, but it appears that the installation of this camera does not conform to national standards.
“I am looking for clarity on behalf of residents. This is about having appropriate checks and balances.
“If you put in an installation it has to conform to the standards, and this does not.”
But, said council leader Richard Keeling (Lib Dem, Chudleigh): “The simple answer is, don’t speed on that road.”
Cllr Rosie Dawson (Lib Dem, Dawlish North East) said speed cameras were put up in places where there was a risk to children or vulnerable people and Cllr Colin Parker (Lib Dem, Buckland and Milber) said it was ‘nonsensical’ to say that the camera should not be there.
The Devon and Cornwall Police Road Safety Team says it installed the camera in conjunction with Devon County Council and the Vision Zero South West road safety partnership.
It is within 300 metres of a children’s play park, family centre and sheltered accommodation, and there have been nine ‘injury collisions’ on the road in the last five years.
Camera warning signs were put up, despite them not being a legal requirement.
Police say the number of times the camera is activated is falling every month, proving it is doing its job of slowing drivers. The latest figures show that just three drivers in every thousand are driving above the ‘threshold’ speed.
The council voted by a large majority not to endorse Cllr Bullivant’s motion.