A state-of the art new speed camera installed on the A385 Ashburton Road in Totnes has caught more than a thousand speeders since it was recently installed.
The route has had problems with collisions and speeding vehicles, prompting numerous complaints to local councils and the police from residents.
The cameras, which have been funded by the Vision Zero South West road safety partnership, have been put up on bright yellow posts for maximum visibility and have the ability to enforce speed in both directions simultaneously.
Vision Zero South West is undertaking an ambitious programme of new camera system installation, either replacing outdated technology at existing sites or introducing brand new schemes where an evidenced problem exists.
Adrian Leisk, Head of Road Safety for Devon & Cornwall Police and chair of the Vision Zero South West enforcement group, said: “Speed is one of the ‘Fatal Five’ contributory factors to serious and fatal collisions. Travelling too fast means you have less time and space to react and significantly increases your risk of serious or fatal injuries in the event of a crash.
“The higher the speed, generally the worse the severity of injury.
“We are taking this opportunity to point out the location of the camera systems and to explain that they will record excess speeds in both directions.
“Unlike older technology, they do not need painted lines on the road, or loops sunk into the road surface. They also use infra-red low light technology so will not ‘flash’ like the legacy systems.
“The aim is to encourage drivers to change behaviour and slow down. It’s that simple. Success for us is detecting the least number of offences at these sites.
“Where we have installed these systems recently, the overwhelming majority of drivers detected are local people, so please spread the message to your friends and family.”
Vision Zero South West is determined to drive down the number of people killed and seriously injured on Devon and Cornwall’s roads – with an ambitious target to halve the number by 2030.