A temporary speed camera has been installed on Crow Lane just outside Hamilton for testing purposes only and will not be used to issue tickets, the Minister of National Security has said.

Over the next few weeks the camera, fastened to a utility pole by a roadside gas station, will be tested and calibrated under real Bermuda road conditions.

However, it is not known when enforcement operations will begin, with a general aim of the middle of next year set by the ministry.

Ryan Robinson Perinchief, the Minister of National Security, said the trial was taking place to check if the system works reliably on Bermuda roads.

He said: “I want to be very clear for anyone driving past Crow Lane — this camera is not issuing tickets.

“Once set up, it will detect the passing vehicle. It’s going to measure its speed and record the details. During testing, that information is checked but not ticketed.

“Crow Lane was chosen because it gives us the right conditions to test. It does not mean that this will necessarily become a permanent enforcement site.”

The minister explained this was the first step in a staged programme, while separate licence-plate testing would soon be taking place at the Paget traffic lights.

Eventually there will be 54 cameras across 27 sites. Locations remain to be confirmed.

Mr Robinson Perinchief said: “Before a single ticket is issued, three things need to be in place. We have to have the technology validated. The legislation must be in place, which is under way, and the operational arrangements must be made.”

He added: “Speed matters. It raises the risk of a collision, and people speeding on the roads make collisions more severe when they happen.

“We’ve lost too many people on our roads, and ATEP, which is the Automated Traffic Enforcement Programme, is a road safety programme that will be using speed cameras to record safer driving, strengthen traffic enforcement and help to reduce serious injuries and loss of life.

“Ultimately, the goal here is not just more tickets. It’s not just to have a camera set up for (the sake of) having it set up. The goal is to change behaviour and have fewer people speeding.”

Speaking on when the first ticket would be issued, Mr Robinson Perinchief said: “No enforcement date has been announced yet, and I’m not going to give one today.

“As I mentioned, three things have to happen first. The technology has to be validated, depending on that, that’s going to affect the timeline. The legislation also needs to be in place as well as the operational arrangements.

“What I can say is, we are going to do the test with this camera over the course of the next month. Over the rest of this year, you will see other sites being used for testing. The idea is that we will expand later in 2026 and apply lessons from the testing.

“The overall aim is that potentially in mid-2027 we will have live speed enforcement after approvals, public notice and, of course, that’s pending testing.

“The overall roll-out of the planned network is 54 cameras in 27 sites. That’s once all the phases are completed.”

“Some of the criticisms of speed cameras are: it’s just the Government trying to get more money, we just want to get more tickets, persons will slow down at a particular site and then speed right back up.

“That’s exactly why, as we develop the policy programme for the speed camera project, we are looking to see how we can place the cameras in a certain way where it achieves the result of changing culture.

“The evidence generally is that speed cameras do have an effect on behaviour. I think it’s about how you execute and how you use it, which is why we are testing in this way.

“There’s also different types of technology, so, for example, we have speed cameras where they will only detect the speed and enforce at a particular site.

“But when you talk about a network, which is what we are looking at here, you have a chance to integrate the cameras so they catch average speed between different points.”