Enforcing speed limits

Enforcing speed limits is an important element of the Partnership's casualty reduction strategy. For some motorists, it is the risk of being detected speeding and receiving a penalty that is the most effective speeding deterrent.  Bedfordshire Police can enforce any speed limit on any road in Bedfordshire and Luton. The only requirement in law for speeding convictions to be valid is that there is appropriate notification of the speed limit to motorists on the road in question and evidence that the legal speed limit has been exceeded. 

Safety Cameras - Fixed and Mobile

The Partnership has a dedicated safety camera enforcement team who regularly enforce speed limits (and red traffic light violations) at "core" sites using fixed speed cameras, fixed red light cameras and mobile speed enforcement vans. In general, these are sites with a history of casualty collisions and a quantified speeding problem, or sites with a serious speeding problem that presents a real hazard to safety.

It is Partnership policy that these core enforcement sites are all highly visible to maximise the speeding deterrent effect and alert motorists that they are in a hazardous area. In addition to the usual speed limit signs, speed enforcement warning signs are placed prior to the enforcement site.

Fixed cameras are highly visible with a reflective yellow housing, and enforcement vans have high visibility markings. (This is not a legal requirement).

A proportion of the Safety Camera Team's time may be spent enforcing speed limits at sites of community concern where there may not be a history of casualty collisions, but where there is a speeding problem that jeopardises the safety of all road users.

You can view the locations of the Partnership's core fixed and mobile enforcement sites on the safety camera map which also includes information about each site.  


Roads Policing Unit

High visibility enforcement is highly effective at reducing speeding at certain locations, however, this does not mean that it is possible to ignore the speed limits everywhere else with no risk of being detected. Bedfordshire Police Roads Policing Unit deploy marked and unmarked vehicles throughout the county. Officers will pursue any motorists for any traffic offence that jeopardises the safety of road users: speeding; using mobile phones whilst driving; failing to wear a seat belt or child restraints; driving without due care and attention; driving whilst impaired by drugs or alcohol; driving unroadworthy vehicles and vehicles that do not have tax, insurance or an MOT. 

The purpose of covert enforcement is to detect and penalise those motorists who present the greatest risk to road users and to ensure that people do not only choose to comply with the law when they see a marked police vehicle or high visibility safety camera.


Safer Neighbourhood Teams

Speeding vehicles not only present a road safety hazard but also affect people's quality of life. Bedfordshire Police receive many complaints about speeding traffic and Neighbourhood Police Officers may use hand-held speed detection equipment to tackle speeding problems at sites of community concern in their areas.