6000 motorists caught in 2 months by one of the UK’s newest and most prolific speed cameras, FOI reveals
One of the UK’s most prolific speed cameras has popped up on the Ashburton Road in Newton Abbot. A recent FOI request shows that since the camera was first activated in between August up to the 10th October, nearly 6000 speeding offences were recorded by this one camera alone.
Locally the speed camera has caused outrage, with motorists arguing that the camera is hidden behind bushes and that signage is poor. A Facebook group has been set up called “A383 Ashburton Road speed camera victims”
However Devon and Cornwall police have defended the camera, citing that 9 collisions causing injury were recorded on the Ashburton Rd between 2019 and 2023, three of which were serious. Responding to comments in the Facebook group, Devon and Cornwall police have said that they “provided advanced notice of the camera and posted its specific location and capability on their Facebook page before enforcement took place. Devon Live and the Mid Devon Advertiser were tagged and both ran stories on it. The post alone was viewed over 350,000 times”
They also stated that they asked the residents of the Ashburton Road if they could cut back their hedges and shrubs, which they all did before they commenced enforcement.
Dominic Smith, Director of Patterson Law, further noted that “the speed limit has always been 30mph on the road and is denoted by a system of street lighting, so any arguments about poor signage will fall on deaf ears. Likewise, there is no legal requirement for the police to put a speed camera in plain sight, so whether it is hidden is irrelevant. Instead, motorists who are going to be caused significant hardship by a disqualification ought to seek urgent legal advice on how to take their cases to Court and argue their case”.
It seems that the residents of Newton Abbot are not the only motorists to be caught by increased enforcement. Freedom of Information data obtained by the Coop Insurance last month revealed there has been a 300% increase in the number of penalty points issued to drivers on UK roads over the last four years.
In 2021, 2.8 million penalty points were issued in total in the UK. In 2024 that number increased to a staggering 9.6 million. And so far in 2025, it looks to be going up again.
Undoubtedly there have been additional cameras placed all over the UK, but this isn’t the only reason for the drastic increase.
Historically the Police never used to prosecute for speeds within 10% + 2mph (so a speed of 35 in a 30 limit would go unpunished), but this was reduced to 10% + 1mph. Add this to the reduction in various speed limits – a few years ago the limit was reduced from 30 to 20mph in Wales, with drivers in London seeing similar reductions – meaning that more drivers are now within the enforcement threshold.
Technology has got better as well. Older speed cameras were not necessarily as accurate, and occasionally the pictures not as good. These days, with digital cameras and enhanced technology, the cameras are more accurate and the photographs clearer, making vehicle identification far better.
All these factors combined have led to an increase in drivers getting penalty points.
For any drivers who have been caught, we have answered some frequently asked questions below. If you need any advice on motoring matters, please CONTACT US for free legal advice.
What if I am caught Speeding?
The first thing that the police need to do is identify the driver. They do this by sending a Notice of Intended Prosecution to the registered keeper within 14 days, together a request asking the keeper to nominate the driver. Nomination is a vital step. A person that fails to nominate the driver is going to be at risk of 6 penalty points for failing to identify.
Once you have identified the driver, one of three things will happen. You will either:
- Be offered a speed awareness course. This is instead of penalty points and so is often the preferred choice of drivers. Courses are only offered at the discretion of the police and only when the speed is within the threshold per the green table below, if one hasn’t been completed within the last three years and it’s within 100 days or so with the offence being committed.
- Be offered a fixed penalty of three points and a £100 fine. A fixed penalty is given where the driver isn’t eligible for a course, and as long as the speed is within the blue threshold per the table below. In order to accept, the driver must fulfil the conditions which are to pay the fine and provide licence details within 28 days, and if doing so would not put them on 12 or more points.
- Go to court. In this regard, a driver may wish to take a case to court of their own volition to challenge a case, or alternatively it may go to court automatically if the driver will have 12 or more penalty points on their licence or if the speed is in the pink column of the table below.
How many points before I am banned?
If you are within the first 2 years of passing your test, 6 points will see your licence revoked, meaning you must re-take both parts of your driving test.
Otherwise, you can get up to 11 points without being banned. When you hit 12, you will be at risk of a minimum 6 month disqualification, and the case will proceed to Court automatically.
Penalty points are valid for three years from the date of the offence. They will remain on your licence for an extra year, so for four years in total.
What happens if I commit many offences in quick succession?
This is a question we are asked more and more as time goes on. 10 years ago it was quite rare to speak to somebody who, for example, committed 6 or 7 offences within the same week. These days however we speak with multiple people every day who are in that exact situation.
You can always ask the police to have some discretion and drop two or three of the offences to remove the risk of disqualification. But there is no guarantee they will agree, and if they don’t, your only options would be to complete the speed awareness course on one of them, to accept a couple of fixed penalties to leave you up to 11 points, and then take any remaining to court, as they are the ones that are going to put you at risk of disqualification.
One point to note however is that if two of the offences were committed in very quick succession, these could be considered as one offence. If for example you were caught by two cameras just a minute apart on the same road in the same direction, there is a legal argument to be had that this was one offence of speeding simply recorded by two cameras, and therefore there should only be one sentence. These can however be complex legal arguments, so before taking a case to court and arguing it yourself, we would strongly suggest obtaining legal advice. Ask US A Free Question about your circumstances here.
How do I take a case to Court?
If the speed is too quick for a fixed penalty or if you have 9 points already, the case will automatically proceed to Court after you have nominated the driver. There is nothing you can do to stop that from happening.
If you have been offered a fixed penalty/speed awareness course, you will have a choice to reject the offer and take the case to Court of your own volition. There are a number of reasons why you might want to take a case to court – for example if you have a defence to put forward such as a medical emergency or if there were two offences committed in quick succession as mentioned above – but before you do, always seek legal advice. By taking a case to Court, you could be putting yourself at risk of more penalty points, disqualifications and higher financial penalties.
What happens if the case proceeds to Court?
The first thing to note is that the sentence will be different. Courts have different thresholds from the police and instead will sentence based on the table below:
An interesting point to note here is that for certain speeds, for example 41mph in a 30 limit, will see the police offer you a fixed penalty or even a speed awareness course if you’re eligible. Yet if the case proceeds to court, you are suddenly at risk 4-6 points, much higher fines and even disqualification.
If the case does proceed to Court, seek legal advice urgently. There are deadlines within which a driver must respond, and if a driver fails to respond they could be sentenced in absence to fines, points or even a disqualification.
Every case is dealt with on its own facts, for example:
- Where a speed is too quick for a fixed penalty, there could be a way of dealing with the matter in a behind closed doors sentence hearing called the single justice procedure.
- If the case has gone to court because you have 12 or more points, there is a chance of avoiding disqualification by persuading the magistrates that a ban would cause exceptional hardship. That requires the driver to request a hearing to attend in person.
- If however, you have chosen to take the case to court because you want to challenge it, there will be the opportunity to enter a not guilty plea and have a trial.
- But in certain circumstances, you might want to enter a guilty plea and argue a ‘special reason’, in cases where, say, you were speeding but only for a medical emergency.
But, regardless of the reason as to why the matter is at court, we always stress that you should take legal advice. Magistrates Court proceedings are complex and even if you decide not to instruct a lawyer to help you, it is always sensible to seek legal advice first.
If you need professional legal advice about your offence circumstances please click the button below and ask us a question.
As reported on Devon Live: https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/devon-speed-camera-catches-6000-10654942?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1763570190