About us
Lothian and Borders Safety Camera Partnership was set up in 2003 to reduce collisions on the region’s roads, since then our aims have not changed:
• reduce the number of people killed and injured on the Lothian and Borders roads
• help raise public awareness of the issues and dangers of inappropriate speed
• make speeding as socially unacceptable as drink driving
• change long-term driver behaviour in relation to speeding and red light running.
The Partnership is made up of Lothian and Borders Police, the City of Edinburgh Council, Scottish Borders Council, West Lothian Council, East Lothian Council, Midlothian Council, Transport Scotland, NHS Lothian, NHS Borders, Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service and the Scottish Ambulance Service. All dedicated to the same aim of reducing collisions.
To reduce speeds we use safety cameras at areas where there is a history of collisions and speeding. We cannot just enforce speed limits where we want, we must meet strict criteria laid down by the Scottish Safety Camera Programme Office (external link).
Safety cameras have been in the Lothian and Borders region since 1993; the first ones were in the Scottish Borders on the A1. More safety cameras went live on the A697 in 1996 and on the A68 in 1999. These cameras were installed by the then Scottish Office as a route strategy to slow traffic down over a distance.
In Edinburgh, the first fixed cameras went operational in 1994 and more were installed when the Partnership started in 2003. We use a mix of fixed cameras, mobile cameras and cameras situated at traffic lights to deter motorists from running red lights. Find out more about the types of cameras we use.
History
Prior to the existence of the Safety Camera Programme, the siting of cameras was determined by agreement between the local authority, trunk roads authority and the local police force. Cameras were introduced in the Scottish Borders in 1993 and in Edinburgh in 1994 to reduce accidents, either at specific sites where there had been a number of collisions or as part of route action schemes. Lothian & Borders Safety Camera Partnership now operates these cameras within the scheme on the basis that a road safety benefit has been delivered. Both speed and accident statistics have come down since the introduction of these cameras, either at specific sites or on routes. Care should always be taken when interpreting statistics not to overstate short-term trends, which is why these cameras are now included in Lothian & Borders Safety Camera Partnership’s operations.