EVO Triangle: how average speed cameras have addressed road safety problems
In September 2021, Jenoptik Light & Safety sponsored Project EDWARD (Every Day Without A Road Death), an annual UK-wide road safety campaign backed by government, the emergency services, highways agencies, road safety organisations and British businesses.
In support of the campaign Geoff Collins, Jenoptik’s deputy managing director, along with representatives from Wales Road Casualty Reduction Partnership, GoSafe and North Wales Police were given the opportunity to speak about a recent road safety project that has been delivered across the EVO Triangle in North Wales.
The triangle, made up of stretches of the A5, A543 and B4501 in Conwy and Denbighshire, is popular among car enthusiasts because of its stunning scenery and race track-style bends and undulations, but the route has suffered four deaths since 2012, with residents also concerned that the roads felt unsafe. To address these problems, local police and GoSafe commissioned Jenoptik to install average speed cameras, covering nearly 40km of this iconic route.
Statistics show that on the two sides of the triangle already benefitting from the operational cameras there has been a dramatic improvement in road safety. On the A543, the number of casualties is down 63% with no fatalities, while in the first year since cameras were enabled on the B4501 there has not been a single person injury, compared to six the year before.
Furthermore, police say that since the cameras were installed they have seen a significant fall in the number of call-outs they get to the area, demonstrating that the routes now feel safer for both residents and road users alike.
Geoff Collins CEng MCIHT MIET, Deputy Managing Director, Jenoptik Traffic Solutions UK
Geoff is responsible for Jenoptik Traffic Solutions UK's full range of ANPR and enforcement solutions, including police ANPR and SPECS permanent route management solutions and temporary roadworks schemes. Geoff has been involved in the design, implementation and monitoring of more than 500 such projects, giving him an unrivalled understanding of the factors behind the successful operation of a large scale enforcement project.
There are many potential ‘trap doors’ when working in the enforcement arena, and Geoff enjoys sharing his experience, which always delivers a better, ‘fit for purpose’ result.
Geoff joined Jenoptik in 2004, when it was Speed Check Services, following 10 years in the machine vision industry. He graduated from Nottingham University, is a chartered engineer and a member of the IET and CIHT, and chair of ITS UK’s Enforcement Interest Group.
geoff.collins@jenoptik.com
www.jenoptik.co.uk
Tel: 0118 313 0333