The Cornagrade Road in Enniskillen
THE CORNAGRADE ROAD in Enniskillen remains the number one detection spot for speeding motorists in the county.
The figures from 2013 for speed cameras in the North reveal that over 789 drivers were caught in the county, with the Cornagrade Road once again the main offender in Fermanagh, having taken the crown now for the last four years.
In total 496 drivers were caught speeding on the Cornagrade Road in 2013, dwarfing the next highest of 172 on the A4 Road at Lisbellaw. The only other stretch of road in the county which features in the figures is the Derrylin Road, where last year 121 drivers were detected driving over the speed limit.
The stretch of the Cornagrade Road in which local drivers were detected driving over the speed limit is a 30mph zone and just over nine speedsters are caught per week, landing motorists on average a £60 fine.
Looking back through figures which date back to 2010 the Cornagrade Road is a speeding hotspot. For the year 2010, it detected 446 speeding drivers, in 2011, 495 and, for 2012, 497. Although the number of motorists detected has reduced by one, it remains a problem area.
In the same figures the A4 Road at Lisbellaw, which has a speed limit of 60mph has seen a dramatic rise on previous years. The number of motorists detected speeding fluctuated significantly from 119 in 2010 to 11 in 2011 and then to 38 in 2012. The year 2013 though has seen a 452% increase in the number of drivers caught on the previous year.
The other hot spot, the Derrylin Road has also seen an increase in the number of speed detections on the previous year. In 2010 it detected 293 speedsters, in 2011, 151 and 2012, 99. The steady decrease has now ended with instead a 22% increase in the number of motorists detected as speeding.
When asked to explain the dramatic increase in the numbers caught speeding on the A4 Belfast Road local UUP councillor Basil Johnston suggested the frequency of cameras in the area may have changed.
“I’m just wondering are they comparing like with like? If the cameras were fixed it might give more realistic, balanced figures. The cameras may have been out more in 2013 than previous years.
“I personally haven’t seen any drastic increase in speeding. I can’t see why there should be such a sudden rise in speeding, the only thing I can attribute it to is the frequency of the cameras.
“I was on that road today and I didn’t notice any speeding, traffic was just flowing as normal.”
He continued: “I often say the A4 Road is the busiest road in Fermanagh, it is exceptionally busy. I don’t know how long cameras have been there, but it is certainly a dramatic increase.”
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