New limits could be set for over two thirds of UK speed cameras

A major government overhaul of speed limits on residential and rural roads could see a significant number of additional motorists criminalised, says RoadPilot Ltd. According to the firm’s database, more than two thirds (68 per cent) of all of the UK’s speed cameras are located on the affected roads.

Without adequate signage and driver education, many motorists could face speeding fines and points on their licence for offences they never knew they had committed. RoadPilot’s team of full-time surveyors will continue to visit each and every camera site in the database to ensure that any changes to local limits are uploaded to the database as soon as possible.

Under the new proposals, which are part of a raft of road safety measures announced by the government today, the current 60 mph default speed limit on single carriageway roads (usually found in rural areas) will be reduced to 50 mph, and for residential roads the limit will drop from 30 to 20 mph. In addition, local councils will be obliged to provide good reasons for maintaining the higher thresholds.

“While any initiative aimed at improving road safety is laudable, the newly-reduced speed limits must be clearly communicated to motorists, to prevent criminalising those drivers unaware of the new limits,” comments James Flynn, CEO of RoadPilot.

“Often these are roads along which people have travelled every day for years on their way to work, or to drop their children off at school, for example, so many people may not find out about the reduced limit until a Notice of Intended Prosecution arrives on their doorstep.”

Established in 2000, RoadPilot produced the world’s first GPS safety camera location device, and today is Europe’s leading supplier of GPS speed camera data. Its database stretches from Tromsø in Norway to Taranto in Italy, and from Lisbon, Portugal, to Lublin, in Poland.

RoadPilot’s method of data acquisition differs from those of its competitors in that the firm’s team of dedicated surveyors physically visit each and every site in the database to ensure that every attribute – for instance, the exact GPS location, direction of camera, and local speed limit – is absolutely correct.

The firm’s newest device, the pocket-sized microGo, comes pre-loaded with RoadPilot’s comprehensive database of UK and European camera sites. When not in alert mode the microGo displays the vehicle’s precise speed – to a greater degree of accuracy than the vehicle’s standard speedometer.

The microGo can be purchased for around £79.95, and currently at selected retailers for £69.95. For more information, or to order online, visit roadpilot.com