SAFETYCAM PROJECT

SafetyCam reinforces weight limit

Evidence from A14 diversion route used by police

Emergency maintenance on the A14 required a closure of the carriageway near Thrapston. This led to the local MP contacting National Highways with concerns about ‘HGV drivers who ignore the weight limit’ of the historic bridge and use the market town as a rat-run.

Carnell understood the sensitive situation and the repercussions if the official diversion route was not adhered to. A negative experience would cause overnight disruption to the residents of Thrapston and could lead to future maintenance works on the A14 being shelved indefinitely. Carnell offered Amey, the East Midlands M&R contractor who were conducting the emergency repairs, a free trial of SafetyCam for two nights. This would provide evidence of the scale of the problem.

Carnell liaised with Northamptonshire Police and confirmed that by providing details of HGVs using the weight-restricted bridge, the police would contact the hauliers concerned with strongly worded letters, reminding managers that fines could and would be imposed for repeat offenders.

Responding to MP concerns

SafetyCam was deployed on Bridge Street in Thrapston for two consecutive nights in January 2025. The idea being that as well as traffic levels and speeds being recorded, the conspicuous presence of SafetyCam and its camera systems, would both keep traffic to the speed limit and deter HGVs using the rat-run from returning. The results were positive in several ways…

The first night saw 504 vehicles passing SafetyCam between 8pm and 5pm, 15 of which were HGVs. The following night saw an increase in vehicles to 703, but only 9 were HGVs.

Therefore, after one night of SafetyCam in-situ, there was:

A 40% reduction in the number of HGVs travelling through Thrapston.
A drop in the percentage of HGVs as part of the total traffic from 2.98% to 1.28%.
Just one ‘repeat offender’ ignoring weight restrictions on the bridge.
100% compliance with 30 mph speed limit, providing safety and noise benefits to the local community.

SafetyCam Data

The relatively low number of HGVs showed that the diversion route was effective, with minimal numbers of HGVs causing disruption in Thrapston overnight. In addition, the significant drop in HGV numbers from the first night to the second showed that SafetyCam was a deterrent for those inclined to ignore the diversion.

This was further boosted by working with the police, who sent strongly worded ‘Education Letters’ to hauliers whose drivers used the weight restricted bridge. SafetyCam has ANPR and vehicle capture technology, with records held securely in the cloud. The quick retrieval and processing of this information meant the police could issue letters within 14 days.

The manager of the ‘repeat offender’ contacted the scheme PLO after receiving the letter from the police. His response can be seen in the quote at the bottom of the page.

Seeing Safety in Action

Carnell sent an invitation to Lee Barron, MP for Corby and East Northants, to visit SafetyCam during its deployment to see it in action. This was passed on to Cllr Gerry Hawkins of Thrapston Town Council and Sgt Leigh Goodwin of Northamptonshire Police. They are pictured with Public Liaison Officer Andy Lee.

SafetyCam contract manager Mark Frost commented “We know the emphasis that National Highways put on minimising disruption caused by diversions off the strategic road network and on to local roads. SafetyCam has been increasingly deployed to ensure that additional traffic uses suitable routes, complying with the speed and weight limits. This benefits communities who are concerned about being disturbed during the night and local authorities who are responsible for the upkeep of road and bridges.”

Diversion Routes: A Customer View

National Highways have shown their desire to ensuring diversion routes are better, and included the following commitment in their Customer Service Plan 2024-25: ‘We will publish an updated Diversion routes: A customer view. This will guide project teams on how to improve customers’ experience on diversions’

The ‘Implementation toolkit’ is available to NH project teams, with SafetyCam particularly useful for point 2: Local impact of diversion routes – Exploring ways to operate and maintain the diversion route to minimise the impact on local communities and customers.

"I am sorry for the situation that has occurred, and I want to assure you that we strongly condemn this. I will make sure that all limit restrictions are respected, and I will ensure that this will not happen again from our company’s drivers. After a serious discussion with the driver the explanation provided was that this was the first time experiencing a highway closure at night in that area, which caused some disorientation. The safety of everyone must be respected, residents, traffic participants, and even the driver himself. "Short cuts" are not a safe option for anyone under the existing weight limit conditions... this will not happen again."

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SAFETYCAM PROJECT

SafetyCam reinforces weight limit

Responding to MP concerns

SafetyCam Data

Seeing Safety in Action

Diversion Routes: A Customer View

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