'Smarter' speed cameras added to Midlands roads and key feature means they can catch more drivers

Richard Guttridge
·1-min read
Drivers are using reflective number plates to fox speed camera vans but officials have new technology to catch them
-Credit: (Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)


New and improved speed cameras which will be able to catch more dangerous drivers are being rolled out onto Midlands roads. The mobile cameras, used by police when they park up in vans to monitor traffic, are now fitted with new technology allowing them to see drivers in low light, making them much more effective during the winter months.

The cameras are being used by Staffordshire Police in their latest move to tackle speeders. It comes after new digital speed cameras were added to hotspot roads in the county.

It allows officers to stay on the roads for longer where there are concerns over speeding. This is particularly important during the winter months when daylight hours are drastically reduced, limiting their powers up to now.

READ MORE: Manoeuvre done by drivers every day could be banned within weeks

Get breaking news on BirminghamLive WhatsApp , click the link to join

Teams will now be able to hit the roads earlier in the mornings and later in the afternoon during peak rush-hour times. Thousands of motorists are caught out by these mobile police vans every year across the Midlands, with motorists unaware of which roads police will visit and when.

Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership co-chairman Dave Evans told StokeonTrentLive: “We know that speeding is one of the top contributory factors for fatal collisions. The lack of visibility during the darker winter months adds to the risks posed to drivers themselves and other road users, especially children travelling to and from school. By allowing us to tackle speeding even in low light conditions, these upgraded cameras will help to make our roads safer for everyone to use, whatever the time of year.”

Latest stories

  • Waitrose apologises to customers as product deemed a 'health risk' is recalled

    A Waitrose spokesman said: “We apologise that it has been necessary to recall this product and for the inconvenience caused.”

  • Half of firms to slash jobs and raise prices after Budget

    More than half of British businesses expect to put up prices and cut jobs to cope with the costs of Rachel Reeves’s National Insurance raid.

  • Petrol car rationing sends sales to record low

    Petrol car sales in Britain have plunged to an all-time low as manufacturers ration supplies to hit tough electric vehicle (EV) targets.

  • Electric car brands offer £11,000 discounts in sales scramble

    Car makers are discounting electric vehicle (EV) prices by an average of £11,000 per car to boost sales, amid warnings that demand from private buyers remains weaker than expected.

  • Legal & General shares rise 4% on capital return plan

    Legal & General shares rose 4% on Wednesday after the British life insurer said it was planning to return capital to shareholders and was on track to meet its financial targets. Legal & General anticipates returning a proportion of capital from its institutional retirement business to shareholders, it said in a trading statement ahead of an investor presentation for the unit. This capital return would form part of the board's wider consideration of its capacity for buybacks, which would be set out at its full-year results in March 2025, the insurer said.

  • Intense interest as farmers, experts analyse tax changes

    Farmers and farm family members attending Fermanagh Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) meeting this week, ‘Protecting Your Farm Post-Budget – The Facts’, were left in no doubt about the implications of the recent proposed reforms of Agricultural Property Relief and Inheritance Tax. The meeting in the Killyhevlin Hotel, Enniskillen on Monday night, that was attended by up to 150 people, examined in more detail the issues of farm taxation, legal affairs such as wills and succession, as well as investment

  • Tesco offers full refund to customers as chicken product poses 'risk to health'

    Tesco is recalling one of its chicken products due to a “risk to health”, offering customers a full refund

  • DS Smith flags persisting weak demand after H1 profit fall

    However the company, which has agreed to a $7.20 billion all-share takeover by U.S. rival International Paper, forecast continued modest growth in packaging volumes and said it would raise prices to offset higher input costs. Paper and packaging firms are consolidating as the sector slowly recovers from a drop in demand as customers reduced stocks following a boom in packaging sales during the pandemic. London-listed DS Smith, which provides packaging, paper and recycling services to companies including Amazon and Unilever, noted weak packaging prices and higher input costs, notably for fibre and paper, during the first half of its financial year to the end of October.

  • A Macy’s employee made accounting errors ‘intentionally,’ hiding up to $154 million in expenses. Now the company’s earnings report is delayed

    The Macy’s employee, who is no longer with the company, hid delivery expenses during the course of almost three years.

  • Small North Carolina town sues energy ‘Goliath’ in historic climate action

    Carrboro officials say Duke Energy broke state laws waging decades-long ‘deception campaign’ about fossil fuels

  • The lawyers who took on Tesla and Elon Musk wanted $5.6 billion for winning the case. In a lawsuit about excessive pay, ‘That was a bold ask,’ said the judge.

    The fee would have been 17 times the size of the largest fee in Delaware history.

  • Hong Kong needs to nurture insurance talent to rival Singapore and Dubai, CEOs say

    Hong Kong must grow and nurture its pool of talent in the insurance industry to compete with other financial centres like Singapore and Dubai as businesses become increasingly digitalised, executives said. Edward Moncreiffe, the CEO of global insurance at HSBC, said the city should focus on improving its physical and digital infrastructure, regulation and language skills if it wants to remain a global financial centre. This will ensure people with good services can come in and do business in Hon

  • China stacked the deck against Augusta-made golf carts. Here's what America did about it.

    U.S. Rep. Rick W. Allen led a bipartisan, bicameral letter to Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo urging her to stand by U.S. manufacturers.

  • Novartis cannot block generic of best-selling heart drug, US appeals court says

    Novartis failed to persuade a U.S. appeals court on Wednesday to halt MSN Pharmaceuticals' proposed generic of Novartis' blockbuster heart drug Entresto. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a Delaware federal judge's August decision that found Novartis failed to prove it was likely to win a patent lawsuit against MSN over the drug, removing a roadblock for MSN's launch of what would be the first U.S. Entresto generic. Novartis said in a statement that it disagrees with the ruling and is "considering all available options to vigorously defend our intellectual property rights, including further appellate options."

  • Deutsche Bank CEO says German economy needs 'urgent' action

    LONDON (Reuters) -Germany's struggling economy needs urgent action to boost its competitiveness, Deutsche Bank's CEO said on Wednesday as he called for structural reforms, less regulation and lower taxes on companies. "Germany needs to adjust its business model," Christian Sewing told the FT Global Banking Summit in London. "It is urgent we take action," he said, flagging the likelihood of further job losses in Germany's auto industry and adding that February's snap election could provide the opportunity for a reset.

  • German government approves strategy aimed at bolstering defence industry

    The German government approved on Wednesday a defence industry strategy that aims to make it easier for companies to ramp up capacity and to accelerate weapons production, with an eye to the current security situation and the war raging in Ukraine. "The current threat situation requires that we promote key technologies in Germany," said German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius in a joint statement with Economy Minister Robert Habeck. Both ministers are set to meet with top representatives from the German defence industry on Thursday in Berlin to discuss the strategy, though no decisions are expected from those talks, according to several sources familiar with the plans.

  • UK's electric vehicle market is doing better than you might think

    To listen to UK car manufacturers in recent weeks has been to hear a counsel of despair over the electric vehicle market. Struggling to hit targets imposed amid mixed messages from the last government, they have lobbied the new one to relax the rules. With the target rising to 28% next year, and fines of £15,000 for every vehicle by which they fall short, they say consumers need help, in the form of grants or tax breaks, to swallow their reservations about plugging in.

  • Why your personality might be affecting your salary – and how it shapes the gender pay gap

    New research shows that certain personality traits can pay dividends – while others can be detrimental.

  • Oil Seen Below $60 by Middle of New Trump Term, Survey Shows

    (Bloomberg) -- Banks are gearing up for US oil prices to fall below $60 a barrel by the middle of President-elect Donald Trump’s new term in office, according to a survey from law firm Haynes Boone LLP.Most Read from BloombergAs Wars Rage, Cities Face a Dark New Era of Urban DestructionRiyadh Metro Partially Opens in Bid to Ease City’s Traffic JamsWest Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, is expected to drop to $58.62 a barrel by 2027, the mean estimate of 26 banks participating in the survey t

  • North Sea Trading Frenzy Sparks Brent Crude Price Speculation

    Record-breaking North Sea crude trades spark speculation about Brent Crude price movements, but OPEC+ production cuts and global economic factors remain key determinants.