Key Points
- Mobile speed cameras are being deployed across Leeds this week by the West Yorkshire Police Camera Enforcement Unit on behalf of the West Yorkshire Safety Camera Partnership to cut casualties on the city’s roads.
- The cameras are positioned at both core camera sites, where there is a high incidence of casualties and speeding, and community concern sites, identified by local authorities and residents as problem areas.
- As outlined in multiple notices carried by Yahoo News UK and the West Yorkshire Safety Camera Partnership, frequent mobile enforcement is described as one of the most effective ways to reduce crashes and improve driver compliance with speed limits.
- The devices work by shining laser technology at passing cars to calculate speed and can operate reliably in a wide range of weather and light conditions, including at night and in poor visibility.
- Lists published this week show mobile enforcement due at 30mph, 40mph and 50mph sites across Leeds, including A61 Wakefield Road/Leeds Road in Rothwell, A65 Otley Road in Guiseley, Broad Lane, Otley Old Road, Harewood Road, Tong Road and sections of Gelderd Road, the East Leeds Orbital Road and A63 Selby Road.
- According to West Yorkshire Safety Camera Partnership information, camera locations are chosen using a deployment strategy introduced in 2023, which ranks sites by collision history, evidence of speeding and community concern.
- The latest Leeds schedule forms part of a wider regional approach, with similar mobile enforcement programmes running elsewhere in West Yorkshire, including Bradford and other neighbouring districts.
- Leeds City Council and the partnership have separately backed permanent and average-speed cameras on major routes such as the A6120 Outer Ring Road and A647 Stanningley Bypass, as part of longer-term work towards the Vision Zero 2040 ambition of eliminating deaths on the city’s roads.
Mobile speed cameras are in force across Leeds this week as police and local authorities continue a high-profile campaign to cut speeding and serious collisions on some of the city’s busiest and most hazardous routes. Deployed by the West Yorkshire Police Camera Enforcement Unit for the West Yorkshire Safety Camera Partnership, the devices will monitor speeds at dozens of 30mph, 40mph and 50mph locations designated either as high-risk core sites or community concern areas highlighted by councillors and residents.
- Key Points
- What is happening with mobile speed cameras in Leeds this week?
- How are the sites chosen and what are core and community concern locations?
- How do the mobile speed cameras work on Leeds roads?
- Where are this week’s mobile speed camera locations in Leeds?
- Which 40mph Leeds routes are included on the list?
- Which 50mph corridors around Leeds will be monitored?
- How does this week’s operation fit into wider road safety plans for Leeds?
- Why are Leeds police and partners emphasising mobile enforcement?
- What should Leeds drivers do in response to this week’s camera schedule?
What is happening with mobile speed cameras in Leeds this week?
Mobile speed cameras have been rolled out “once again” across the city, with a schedule of locations published for the current week covering major radial routes, suburban corridors and known collision hotspots. As reported by the anonymous news team of Yahoo News UK in its piece “the mobile speed camera locations across Leeds this week”, the enforcement programme is designed “to reduce casualties on Leeds’ roads” and will operate throughout the week at the advertised sites.
According to further listings carried by Yahoo News UK under titles such as
“All the mobile speed camera locations in Leeds this week”
and “24 mobile speed camera locations in Leeds this week”, the current deployment continues a regular pattern of weekly enforcement intended to maintain driver compliance rather than one-off crackdowns. Information on the Safety Cameras West Yorkshire website confirms that mobile speed enforcement in Leeds is an ongoing activity managed by the West Yorkshire Police Camera Enforcement Unit.
How are the sites chosen and what are core and community concern locations?
Guidance published by the West Yorkshire Safety Camera Partnership explains that mobile enforcement is focused on two categories of site: core camera sites and community concern sites. In the partnership’s deployment strategy, core sites are described as locations with a “high incidence of both casualties and speeding vehicles” where analysis shows that frequent mobile enforcement is the most effective way of reducing speeds and injuries.
By contrast, community concern sites may not meet the same statistical thresholds for casualty numbers but have been identified by local authorities or members of the public as areas where speeding is a persistent problem or poses a perceived safety risk. As reported by Yahoo News UK in several recent Leeds camera round-ups, these two categories are now standard in how sites across the district are listed and prioritised week to week.
How do the mobile speed cameras work on Leeds roads?
In multiple Leeds camera-location articles, including “Mobile speed camera locations across Leeds this week” and “Every mobile speed camera location across Leeds this week”, Yahoo News UK reports that the devices “shine a laser” at passing vehicles to determine their speed. The coverage explains that the laser-based system can be used effectively in a range of weather and light conditions, enabling enforcement during daylight and after dark, and in rain or overcast conditions.
Technical information from the West Yorkshire Safety Camera Partnership states that the overall purpose is to “prevent deaths and serious injuries on the roads of West Yorkshire by reducing the level and severity of speeding and red light offences and to improve driving standards through education and enforcement”. As outlined on the partnership’s “What we do” and “Mobile speed enforcement” pages, camera operations are combined with signage and public information to encourage compliance rather than solely focusing on punitive fines.
Where are this week’s mobile speed camera locations in Leeds?
Lists published by Yahoo News UK and the West Yorkshire Safety Camera Partnership set out a series of 30mph roads in Leeds earmarked for mobile enforcement during the current week. Among the corridors highlighted are:
- A61 Wakefield Road/Leeds Road, Rothwell – between Middleton Lane and Leadwell Lane.
- A65 Otley Road, Guiseley – between A6038 Bradford Road and B6153 Park Road.
- Broad Lane – between Whitecote Hill and Waterloo Lane.
- Otley Old Road (with static camera housings on site) – between Holtdale Approach and Spen Lane.
The same listings also reference a range of further 30mph routes in and around Leeds where cameras may appear during the week, with Yahoo’s December schedule including locations such as Harewood Road in Collingham, sections of Dewsbury Road and parts of Tong Road. The official Leeds page on the Safety Cameras West Yorkshire site hosts a regularly updated list of 30mph mobile locations for the district, mirroring much of the detail reported in the media summaries.
Which 40mph Leeds routes are included on the list?
According to the December schedule for “mobile speed cameras across West Yorkshire this week” and linked Leeds lists, enforcement will also target several 40mph roads. Among those cited in the regional round-up are:
- A58 Easterly Road, Leeds – between Easterly Grove and Boggart Hill Drive.
- A61 Harrogate Road/Alwoodley area – between Fir Tree Lane and Alwoodley Lane.
- A657 Carr Road – between Clara Drive and a point approximately 45m north-east of Carr Wood Gardens.
- A65 Abbey Road – on the stretch indicated in the published schedule between local junction markers.
The same Yahoo News UK coverage notes that Leeds 40mph sites are generally roads “where the police believe collisions are likely to take place”, echoing language used in an earlier article titled “Every mobile speed camera location across Leeds this week”. Partnership documentation adds that such sites will normally show a combination of collision history, measured speeding and community concern to justify regular enforcement.
Which 50mph corridors around Leeds will be monitored?
For higher-speed sections, the December regional schedule lists three key 50mph corridors around Leeds where mobile speed cameras are expected this week. These are set out in the Yahoo News UK West Yorkshire round-up and the partnership’s Leeds locations page as:
- A62 Gelderd Road, Gildersome – between a point near 42 Gelderd Road and the nearby railway feature.
- A6120 East Leeds Orbital Road – along designated stretches specified in the partnership’s mobile locations list.
- A63 Selby Road, Swillington – within the signed 50mph limit area listed in the schedule.
These 50mph locations sit alongside the more numerous 30mph and 40mph sites in the city and are intended to address both speed-related collisions and the risk posed by higher-speed non-compliance on strategic routes into and around Leeds. The partnership emphasises that average-speed enforcement is also being expanded on some comparable corridors, including sections of the A6120 and A647, as part of a separate but complementary programme.
How does this week’s operation fit into wider road safety plans for Leeds?
A statement released by Leeds City Council in June 2023, reported on the authority’s news pages, announced that the first permanent average-speed cameras in West Yorkshire would be installed on the A6120 Outer Ring Road and the A647 Stanningley Bypass as part of the Connecting West Leeds scheme. In that statement, Councillor Helen Hayden, the council’s executive member for sustainable development and infrastructure, said the measures aligned with the Leeds Vision Zero 2040 Strategy, which sets a “bold ambition of having zero deaths on Leeds roads by 2040” and aims to ensure streets are safe for people “to walk, scoot, wheel, and cycle”.
The same council announcement explained that the speed limit on relevant sections of the A6120 and A647 would be reduced to a continuous 50mph and enforced by the new average-speed camera system, following public consultation that had yielded a majority in favour of the change. The West Yorkshire Safety Camera Partnership, through comments attributed to West Yorkshire Police lead Paul Jeffrey in the council report, stressed that any new speed limits must follow the Department for Transport’s “Setting Local Speed Limits” guidance, and that while some residents had pressed for a 40mph limit, the roads in question were assessed as suitable for a 50mph limit supported by robust enforcement.
Why are Leeds police and partners emphasising mobile enforcement?
On its official “What we do” page, the West Yorkshire Safety Camera Partnership states that its purpose is to prevent deaths and serious injuries by reducing speeding and red light offences and improving driving standards through combined education and enforcement. The partnership notes that deployment decisions for mobile cameras are made with reference to its 2023 strategy
“A new strategic approach to Enforcement, Signing and Speed Management”,
which sets out criteria for selecting core and community concern sites.
Several recent Yahoo News UK articles on Leeds mobile camera locations report that West Yorkshire Police Camera Enforcement believes
“frequent mobile enforcement is the most effective method to stop crashes”
at certain high-risk points, particularly where fixed cameras may be less suitable or more costly. In these reports, the emphasis is placed on reducing casualties and collisions rather than revenue generation, with authorities repeatedly highlighting that cameras are deployed where
“there have been several incidents that have led to casualties caused by speeding vehicles”
or where police “believe collisions are likely to take place”.
What should Leeds drivers do in response to this week’s camera schedule?
The published lists and official guidance make clear that drivers are expected to observe the posted speed limits at all times, not only at locations where cameras are advertised. However, by sharing detailed weekly schedules for mobile and average-speed camera sites, West Yorkshire Police and the partnership aim to remind motorists of known risk locations and encourage safer driving behaviour across Leeds’ road network.
As the Yahoo News UK articles conclude, the current round of enforcement is part of a continuing programme, and readers are invited to stay updated via regular news alerts and the Safety Cameras West Yorkshire website, which hosts the latest camera locations for Leeds and the wider county. For drivers, the message from both council statements and partnership materials is that sticking to appropriate speeds is central to preventing serious crashes and supporting the long-term Vision Zero goal for Leeds.