New high tech camera van expected to detect more speeding …

The new speed camera van which will be monitoring roads in Leicestershire and Rutland

The Ford Transit van is equipped with 360 degree and infrared camera technology, which will enhance the ability to identify offending motorcycles while also improving the ability to monitor all vehicles during darker evenings.

It also boasts all-wheel drive which will allow better access to roadside locations during the autumn and winter months.

The new vehicle joins the existing fleet of five vehicles operated by the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Road Safety Partnership (LLRRSP).

Jonathan Clarkson, spokesperson for the partnership, said: “Since the first lockdown in 2020 we began to see a rise in speeding offences and this has increased as local traffic volumes have returned to pre-pandemic levels.

“The Road Safety Unit at Leicestershire Police is constantly dealing with very high volumes of speeding offences, however, whether it be via our fleet of speed camera vans, our fixed roadside speed cameras, the enforcement efforts of local police officers and regular FATAL4 operations, we are committed to reacting to community concerns about excessive speeds and keeping the roads of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland safe for everyone.”

The new speed camera van will enhance the ability of the LLRRSP to deliver speed enforcement, particularly on local seasonal motorcycle routes, those community concern locations and the partnership’s ‘core’ speed camera sites which can be found right across the city and the two counties.

Recent research revealed that the number of prosecutions against drivers in Leicestershire rose by 92 per cent from 2021 to 2022, the third highest rise of any area in England and Wales.