Gloucestershire County Council is introducing new road safety measures to reduce fatalities and serious injuries on the county’s roads. This initiative is part of the Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership (GRSP).
In 2022, Cabinet approved a strategy to halve road fatalities and serious injuries over ten years and these new measures are part of that strategy to tackle hot spot areas and keep the public safe.
The strategy includes average speed cameras and lower speed limits at some hot spot sites. The first two roads being reviewed have collectively suffered 34 people killed or serious injured (KSIs) in 23 collisions in the last 5 years. On both of these roads speed is a major contributing factor to collisions.
- Average speed cameras will be installed on the A436 between Seven Springs and Shipton, where the highest number of collisions involving KSIs have occurred (13 in the last 5 years) They will enforce the existing 50mph limit. This kind of measure will typically ensure up to 99% compliance with speed limits.
- Speed limit reduction on A46 – the speed limit on the A46 near Pitchcombe junction (where 10 collisions involving KSIs have occurred in the past five years), will be reduced from 50mph to 40mph following community consultations. This change is supported by local stakeholders and will be implemented alongside the installation of average speed cameras.
The work to install these measures, costing around £400,000, will begin in April 2025. Installation of cameras will be coordinated by the county council with ongoing operation by Gloucestershire Constabulary. The key focus of these measures is to ensure compliance with the appropriate and safe speed limit for the roads and to make our roads safer. It is hoped that compliance will be high, however any surplus income from speed awareness courses, run by Gloucestershire Constabulary will be reinvested in road safety improvements in Gloucestershire.
Cllr Dave Norman, Chair of GRSP, said: “Road safety is a priority for us. By working with our partners and local communities, we aim to make Gloucestershire’s roads safer for everyone. I’m pleased to see these cameras installed as we know that reducing speeds at these locations will have a positive outcome in reducing the number of collisions.”
Nick Evans, Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner, added: “These new cameras are about saving lives. Nearly half of the deaths and serious injuries on these stretches of road have involved excess speed, so as a road safety partnership, we see these installations as a crucial step in improving road safety. Anything that we can do to prevent more families suffering the heartache of another fatality is worthwhile, and will benefit the local communities too, who know all too well the dangers posed by speeding motorists.”
