Northern Ireland Speed Cameras Record 87,443 Detections — Yet Fixed Cameras Record None
Northern Ireland recorded its highest-ever annual total of speeding detections through the Road Safety Partnership in 2025, with 87,443 offences identified. But the headline number hides a major change in how speeding is detected: traditional fixed speed cameras and red-light cameras recorded no detections during the year.
Record Road Safety Partnership detections
The partnership recorded 87,443 speeding detections in 2025, up from 84,004 in 2024 — approximately 4% more. Averaged across the calendar year, that is around 240 detections per day. This does not prove that individual drivers are speeding more frequently; enforcement activity and locations affect the figures.
Mobile cameras account for almost all detections
The official breakdown shows:
| Camera type | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile speed cameras | 82,298 | 86,628 |
| Average speed cameras | 1,012 | 815 |
| Fixed speed cameras | 506 | 0 |
| Red-light cameras | 188 | 0 |
| Total | 84,004 | 87,443 |
Mobile cameras generated approximately 99% of Road Safety Partnership detections. Mobile camera van deployments moved from 8,017 in 2024 to 8,062 in 2025, while mobile detections increased by 4,330. The resulting averages were around 10.3 and 10.7 detections per deployment respectively; these are not probabilities of being caught.
Why did fixed cameras record zero?
The partnership's report says fixed speed cameras and red-light cameras have not been in operation since 2024 and their future use remains under review. Zero detections are therefore not evidence that motorists stopped breaking rules at those locations. Average speed systems continued operating, recording 815 detections, down from 1,012.
What happened after detection?
Of the partnership's 87,443 detections, 45,332 were dealt with through completed speed awareness courses, 36,464 through fixed penalty notices and 5,647 were referred for prosecution. Those are approximately 52%, 42% and 6% respectively. Referral is not the same as conviction.
The PSNI reports speeding separately
The PSNI recorded 4,513 speeding detections in its separate 2025 motoring offences report. This excludes Road Safety Partnership detections. The combined published figure is 91,956 detections across the two systems, not necessarily 91,956 different drivers.
The partnership recorded a highest speed of 123mph in 2025. Separately, PSNI reported 143mph on the M2 southbound near Rathbeg, Antrim, in a 70mph limit. Extreme examples should not be mistaken for typical detected speeds.
The enforcement system is changing
In July 2026, PSNI announced a pilot using three TruCAM II devices, combining laser speed measurement and video evidence. This adds to the ways speeding can be detected without automatically requiring a roadside stop.
What nearly 240 detections a day actually means
Dividing 87,443 Road Safety Partnership detections by 365 gives approximately 239.6 detections per calendar day. This is an average across the year, not the number detected on a typical camera operating day. Dividing 86,628 mobile detections by 8,062 mobile deployments gives approximately 10.7 per deployment; the equivalent 2024 calculation is 82,298 divided by 8,017, or 10.3. That is a rise of about 4.5% in detections per deployment, although the deployment unit is not a standard hour of exposure.
The more useful unpublished denominator would be vehicles passing each enforcement location and the number of hours each camera operated. Without it, neither more detections nor detections per deployment proves that motorists are speeding more often.
A closer look at enforcement outcomes
The published disposal numbers add up exactly: 45,332 completed courses, 36,464 fixed penalty notices and 5,647 prosecution referrals total 87,443. Their respective shares are approximately 51.8%, 41.7% and 6.5%. A course completion is not a criminal conviction; a prosecution referral is not proof that a court convicted anyone.
The question about permanent camera sites
Zero detections from fixed cameras and red-light cameras reflects their recorded operational status, not an absence of violations at those locations. It would be worthwhile to request a site-by-site list of when each camera last operated, the cost of maintaining dormant infrastructure and whether any replacement or recommissioning timetable has been approved. Those answers are not supplied by the annual detection totals.
PureCar analysis
The record number shows that more offences were detected, not conclusively that speeding prevalence increased. A proper trend analysis would need comparable data on deployment hours, sites, traffic passing cameras and speeds over time.
What is clear is the scale of the shift: mobile vans account for almost all Road Safety Partnership detections, while traditional fixed and red-light equipment recorded none in 2025.
