News : Average speed cameras to be installed along Cat & Fiddle

Work begins on installing seven average speed cameras along the A537 Macclesfield to Buxton road (known as the Cat and Fiddle road), which is consistently identified by independent surveys as the ‘the most dangerous road in Britain’.

The scheme is a joint initiative between the Cheshire Safer Roads Partnership (including Cheshire East Council); Derby and Derbyshire Road Safety Partnership; and the Department for Transport, and enables the average speed of vehicles along the 50 mph route to be measured between any two cameras. Cameras will be installed along the A537 and A54.

Lee Murphy, Cheshire Safer Roads Partnership Manager, says: “Major resources have been committed to the Cat and Fiddle road since 2000, including reducing the speed limit; high friction surfacing; high visibility warning signs; red warnings painted on the road; motorcycle-friendly safety barriers; enforcement signs; carriageway widening; mobile safety cameras; and police operations. Even without police costs, we estimate that more than £500,000 has been spent on the road in Cheshire alone. Despite all this work, casualties remain high.

“We want all road users to come and enjoy this scenic route responsibly and lawfully. Unfortunately, a minority of riders treat the road with a race track mentality — we have recorded bikers riding at speeds of 130 mph. This is not a knee-jerk reaction because we have tried all other measures. Short of closing the road, we couldn’t see any viable alternatives to the average speed cameras to reduce the number of casualties along the Cat & Fiddle.”

Of the 264 casualties on the road since 2001, approximately 70% of those killed or seriously injured were motorcyclists, with the main causes being poor cornering/manoeuvring; exceeding the speed limit; and failing to judge another vehicle’s speed/distance. “The information and statistics show that it is riding behaviour not the road condition that causes the majority of collisions. We don’t have a problem with other road users not seeing bikes, because the majority of collisions are single vehicles,” adds Murphy.

The cameras will be functional by the end of March and the scheme is working closely with the Peak District National Park Authority to minimize the impact they will have on the landscape.