Average speed check between Kidbrook and Bexleyheath on the A2 stretch
Request ID: FOI-1618-2122 Date published: 19 November 2021
You asked
Can you let me know the following:
1) Is the average speed check active? From Bexley heath On the A2 to A102 (at entry and exit points along the A2 and A102)
2) If yes, in the last 12 months how may cars have been caught speeding?
3) How many appeals? categorise those upheld against those lost - add a summary of what the appeal was about and why it was upheld or lost
4) Why is there a restriction on that stretch of road?
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-1618-2122
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 25 October 2021, asking for information about an average speed camera between Kidbrook and Bexleyheath.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require. You asked:
Is the average speed check active? From Bexley heath on the A2 to A102 (at entry and exit points along the A2 and A102)
All safety cameras in London are active except for sites currently undergoing modernisation and installation, or those that currently require work to be carried out due to faults or damage. TfL expects the entire safety camera network to be available for enforcement by the Police, and cameras are constantly being fixed and brought back into action.
In accordance with the FOI Act, we are not obliged to supply you with the requested information. This is subject to a statutory exemption to the right of access to information under Section 38(1)(b); Health and Safety – Endangerment to the safety of any individual.
This exemption is applied to all requests for safety cameras as disclosure of the information requested would be likely to adversely affect the safety and security of motorists, pedestrians and other road users. The purpose of safety camera enforcement is to deter motorists from breaking the law and travelling at speeds in excess of the stated limit. Speed compliance relies on this deterrent effect.
When considering the prejudice test and taking into account any harm likely to arise if the requested information were put together with other information already published into the public domain (commonly known as the ‘mosaic effect’) we believe that by continuing to publish locations of cameras or sites that are operating would enable others to build up a database of enforcement camera functionality as well as attempt to predict when cameras may or may not be operational. Were there to be a perception that some camera sites were not operating, whether or not that perception is misguided, the likely result is that there would be an increase in dangerous and unlawful driving through those areas. Thousands of casualties are reported each year, both fatal and injured, with excess speed being determined as a major contributory factor. Inappropriate speed also magnifies other driver errors, such as driving too close or driving when tired or distracted, increasing the chances of these types of behaviour causing a collision.
Disclosure of this information to you has to be regarded as a disclosure to ‘the public at large’. Whilst we make no suggestion that you would use the information for anything other than your own personal interest, we consider that the likelihood of prejudice is particularly high because there is a separate and well-established network of information available online which deliberately seeks to undermine legitimate enforcement of this nature. Therefore, given the significant concerns we have that provision of this information would be likely to endanger the public, we consider the exemption to be engaged.
The use of this exemption is subject to an assessment of the public interest in relation to the disclosure of the information concerned. We recognise the need for openness and transparency by public authorities, but there remains a very strong public interest in maintaining the effectiveness of speeding prevention measures and the subsequent safety benefits they bring. Protecting the overall deterrent effect in relation to speed cameras is paramount to ensuring maximum compliance which, in turn, helps to continue the reduction in road collisions that lead to injury and/or fatal outcomes. We therefore conclude that the overwhelming public interest falls in favour of maintaining the exemption.
If yes, in the last 12 months how may cars have been caught speeding?
How many appeals? categorise those upheld against those lost - add a summary of what the appeal was about and why it was upheld or lost.
We don’t hold information for the above two questions as it is the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) who issue speeding fines not TfL.
Why is there a restriction on that stretch of road?
It would have been introduced due to collision/casualty history.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Eva Hextall FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
