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Police to trial hi-tech handheld speed cameras

David WilsonBBC News NI
PSNI a Police officer wearing a high viz jacket holds a speed detection camera. On screen are a number of vehicles and data relating to their speedPSNI
Police say the cameras can ''travel anywhere, on any road, at any time"

State-of-the art handheld cameras that use both laser and video technology to detect speeding drivers are to be trialled by police in Northern Ireland.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said the three Trucam II cameras will help officers "enforce speed limits more effectively, and respond to local priorities and concerns".

The cameras are being used by the PSNI's Road Policing Unit over a period of three months.

Chris Arthur from the North West Road Safety Partnership, said tackling speed is key to cutting the number of deaths on Northern Ireland's roads.

Thirty six people have been killed on the roads in Northern Ireland in 2026.

"Any new technology that can potentially save a life here is definitely most welcome. The number of deaths on the roads is far, far too high," Arthur told BBC News NI.

A woman wearing a PSNI uniform looks at the camera. She is wearing a dark-green hat and a fluorescent yellow jacket. Behind her is a patch of grass, and further in the distance is a road on which several other police officers are standing.
Ch Insp Celeste Simpson says reducing the number of deaths on the roads is a priority for police

Ch Insp Celeste Simpson, the PSNI's head of road policing said police are often told not enough is done to tackle speeding, especially in rural areas.

Using the hand held cameras, she said, means officers can reach roads where camera vans cannot go, and roads "where there's a proven history of collisions and where there is community concern".

They can be deployed anywhere in Northern Ireland, and at any time, "including during the hours of darkness," the senior officer said.

"Reducing serious and fatal collisions is a priority for the PSNI," Simpson said.

The high definition image the cameras capture means there is no need to stop a driver at the scene.

Speeding drivers will receive a notification in the post as they do if detected by speed vans.

PSNI A police officer holds a speed detection camera. a police vehicle is in the backgroundPSNI
Three Trucam II cameras are being used in the trial

Arthur said a specific focus on rural areas was an important one.

"The statistics bear this out – on rural roads there is a much higher number of accidents, a much higher number of people killed," he said.

Chris Arthur Chris Arthur stands with his hands in his jeans pockets. He is wearing a black top, denim jeans and is stood in front of a sign. The large white letter O and P can be seen over his right shoulderChris Arthur
Chris Arthur says drivers who abide by the law have nothing to worry about

Speed is recognised as one of the Fatal Five,. It contributes significantly to the number of people killed or seriously injured on Northern Ireland roads.

Tackling it, Arthur said, needs to be a priority.

"Drivers who abide by the law have nothing to worry about in terms of these cameras," he said.

Speed can have a catastrophic impact

Speaking on the Nolan Show, Tricia O'Neill from Road Safe NI said that if another car is hit at speed, especially if it's head on, it can have a "catastrophic impact".

"All that work...that has been happening for the last number of decades, it's still not enough," she said.

"People are losing their lives in catastrophic road traffic collisions every single day."

She added that there are crashes that are preventable if people just slowed down.

"If you're hit at 40mph , you've 10% chance of survival [but] what if a child's hit? They don't stand a chance."

Martin Boyd from the Motorcycle Action Group said that while speed detection needs to be done, he believe the focus of road safety is wrong.

"Speeding is not the biggest cause of killed and seriously injured collisions in our roads, it is poor driver behaviours such as inattention, distraction driving too close or emerging junctions without care."