New A46 Speed Cameras Go Live in Warwickshire With £100 Fines for Drivers

Drivers using the A46 in Warwickshire face a £100 fine and three penalty points from now on if they break the limit, after new speed cameras went live along one of the county’s busiest and most dangerous stretches of road. The multi-directional units sit between Stratford-upon-Avon and Alcester, a route with a grim recent history of fatal and serious crashes. Here is where the cameras are, what a speeding ticket really costs once points and insurance are added, and how to keep a clean licence on a road that is now watching in both directions.

Where the New A46 Cameras Are and Why They Went Up

The cameras cover the A46 between Stratford-upon-Avon and Alcester and can catch vehicles travelling in either direction. They were installed by the Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership, a group that brings together Warwickshire Police, National Highways, Warwickshire County Council and the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office. The partnership identified the route as high risk after a run of collisions over several years.

The numbers behind the decision are sobering. Between 2021 and 2025, this section of the A46 saw three fatal crashes alongside a string of serious injury collisions. Police analysis found that many of the crashes happened when drivers misjudged another road user’s speed or path. Careless and reckless driving, speeding, losing control of a vehicle and driving while in a hurry all featured as repeat causes. Years of evidence, the force said, pointed to fixed cameras as a proven way to cut both the number and the severity of crashes on a road like this.

Inspector Dave Valente, who leads the partnership’s Safer Speeds Working Group, said cutting excess speed in Warwickshire remained a priority, noting that more than half of all fatal collisions nationally involve speed as a contributing factor. He pointed to community initiatives such as Community Speed Watch and mobile enforcement teams, and said a visible presence on the roads was meant to encourage safer speeds and help educate drivers rather than simply catch them out.

What a Speeding Penalty Actually Costs You

The headline figure is a £100 fixed penalty and three points on your licence, but that is only the start of the bill. Get caught at the lower end of the range for the first time and you might be offered a speed awareness course instead of points, if your police force runs one and you have not taken one in the past three years. The course costs money and eats up half a day, yet it keeps your record clean, which is usually the better deal.

Push well over the limit and the case can go to court, where fines are set by band. A magistrate can hand down a penalty worth between 25 and 175 per cent of your weekly income, capped at £1,000 on an ordinary road and £2,500 on a motorway, along with three to six points or a short ban. The three tiers, known as Band A, B and C, rise with how far over the limit you were travelling, so a driver clocked at 60mph in a 40mph zone faces a far heavier outcome than one caught doing 46mph.

Then comes the part that outlasts the fine. Points stay on your licence for four years and push up your insurance for most of that time. Three points can add a tenth or more to a typical premium, and a driver who collects 12 points inside three years faces a court and a possible disqualification. New drivers are hit hardest of all: rack up six points within two years of passing and your licence is revoked, forcing you back to a provisional and a fresh test. On a road with cameras pointing both ways, a moment of inattention can cost far more than £100.

Most tickets begin with a Notice of Intended Prosecution. Where the registered keeper is identified, the police must send that notice within 14 days of the offence, and you then have 28 days to name the driver. Returning that form late, or failing to name the driver, is itself an offence that carries six points, so a missed letter can end up worse than the speeding charge that started it. If a notice arrives, respond in time even while you decide how to handle the underlying ticket.

How to Avoid a Fine on the A46

Fixed cameras are the easiest tickets in the country to avoid, as they never move and the limit is signed. A few habits keep you clear.

• Know the limit before you reach the cameras. The A46 changes speed along its length. Read the repeater signs and set your cruise control or speed limiter to match rather than guessing.
• Watch your speed on the approach, not just at the camera. Multi-directional units can capture you over a distance, so braking hard at the last second is no guarantee of safety and no guarantee of avoiding a ticket.
• Leave a bigger gap in poor weather. Many of the A46 crashes came from misjudging another driver’s speed or path. More space gives you more time to read the road.
• Use the buffer sensibly. Forces often apply a small tolerance above the limit before a ticket is issued, but that margin is not a legal right and it can be withdrawn. Aim to sit at or under the limit rather than testing where the line falls.
• Plan for the whole route. If you drive the Stratford to Alcester stretch daily, learn where the limit drops and treat those points as fixed features of your commute.

The Wider Shift to Fixed Camera Enforcement

Warwickshire’s move fits a national pattern. Road safety partnerships across England are turning to fixed and average speed cameras on rural A-roads, which carry a heavy share of fatal crashes while handling less traffic than motorways. Single-carriageway A-roads mix fast traffic, junctions, farm entrances and cyclists, and the margin for error is thin. Cameras on these routes tend to cut speeds along the whole corridor, not just at the camera itself, which is the outcome the Warwickshire partnership is chasing.

Average speed camera systems, which read your plate at two points and work out your speed across the gap, are becoming the tool of choice on longer stretches, as they remove the temptation to brake sharply at a single camera and then accelerate away. Fixed spot cameras like the new A46 units do a similar job at known blackspots. Either way, the old game of memorising where a handful of grey boxes sat no longer works, as new units are appearing on the roads people use most and they read plates in both directions.

If a ticket does land, weigh your options before you respond. Where the offence is minor and your record is clean, a speed awareness course usually beats taking the points, as it leaves nothing on your licence for insurers to see. Paying the fixed penalty and accepting the points is quicker but costlier over four years. Fighting a fixed camera ticket in court rarely succeeds unless you can show the camera was faulty, the signage was missing or the vehicle was not yours, and losing can mean a bigger fine plus costs. Get advice before you contest a clear-cut case. A short call to a motoring solicitor or a free advice line can save a costly mistake, and many offer a quick view on whether a case has any realistic prospect of success.

For drivers, the practical takeaway is simple. The penalties climb quickly once points and insurance are counted, and the A46 cameras will catch some drivers in the first weeks, as new installations always do. The ones who adjust, check the signs and hold a steady speed will barely notice they are there, which is exactly the point.

Sources:

• https://www.gbnews.com/lifestyle/cars/warwickshire-motorists-fines-speed-cameras
• https://www.gov.uk/speeding-penalties