Average speed cameras arriving within weeks on Black Country roads
Speed cameras will be switched on in these Black Country roads in the coming weeks.
Average speed cameras will be placed on the A449 Stafford Road and the Black Country New Road.
Drivers have been warned they will be fined if they break the speed limit.
They will also go up on other routes in the region following an agreement between the four Black Country councils to help fund the scheme.
It will be the first time since 2013 that working speed cameras have been on the region's roads.
Transport bosses said action was needed to stop speeding on the busiest roads.
The new cameras will be installed in Wolverhampton first, with signage warning of their introduction to go up next week.
They will then be switched on soon after.
The cameras on Stafford Road will run from Five Ways Island to Three Tuns Island, though Wolverhampton Council said they could be extended at a later date.
Pensioner Hopton Gayle was killed when he was hit by a driver racing on Stafford Road, near Goodyear Island, in February last year.
Rabin Mahmood, 19, was doing 61mph in the 40mph zone and jailed for three years and nine months.
Speed cameras previously worked on the stretch before being switched off.
During 2017, 684 people were injured in 503 crashes. Of these, 84 were seriously injured and one person was killed.
The move will cost the city council £150,000 and money generated from fines will go to the Government.
Where else will the cameras be installed?
Birmingham New Road in Dudley,
A458 from Lye to Halesowen,
A4148 Broadway North in Walsall,
A34 Birmingham Road, from Walsall to Great Barr
Wolverhampton Road, Oldbury.
Why are speed cameras returning?
Councillor Steve Evans, who is on the cabinet at Wolverhampton Council, said: “It’s shocking to see the amount of people that have been seriously injured and even lost their lives on our roads. We recognise something needs to be done to tackle this Black Country-wide issue to reduce road incidents and anti-social behaviour.
“As a council, we have a responsibility to implement a wide-range of engineering and education schemes to address road safety issues to protect our residents and visitors.
“As well as supporting the Black Country car cruising ban, average speed enforcement cameras have been successful in reducing road accidents in other areas and I’m pleased to see them coming to Wolverhampton and the rest of the Black Country to improve safety for all road users.”
Lynnette Kelly, West Midlands Assistant Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “I have promised that I would improve road safety and do all I could to reduce the number of injuries and deaths on our roads. That is why I am pleased that these safety cameras are being delivered. Speed is one of the biggest causes of deaths on the road and one of the biggest issues that local people raise with me on a daily basis.
"The Black Country Councils are installing the cameras and the police are supporting them by processing and enforcing the fines. This shows that we are on the side of the overwhelming majority of motorists who drive safely and sensibly and want others to do so also.”
