Cameras

Hands up who has been caught speeding by a fixed, mobile or average speed camera? How about a traffic light, or box junction cameras?

It seems that traffic cameras are everywhere these days, and the UK is certainly up there with the number of cameras in use across European countries.

There are over 6,500 stationary speed cameras in Great Britain, making it the European country with the second-highest prevalence behind Italy with over 10,000. When calculating per 1,000km² though, Belgium jumps into the lead as the country with the highest density – 67.6 compared to GB’s 31.3 and Italy’s 33.8. Far more motorist friendly are the likes of Spain and Sweden with only 3.4 and 3.8 respectively. If you really like statistics, then check out where this information came from here: https://www.scdb.info/en/stats/

Of course, not all the cameras are in use all of the time and many police forces have turned theirs off across whole counties. The reason, well that’s subjective. The cost of operating and maintaining them is often used as the reason, but could it be that they are just not generating enough revenue now people know where they are, either because they drive the same routes daily, or because they use sophisticated sat navs that alert them to the presence of cameras. Maybe it ‘s possible that people have just learned to slow down?

Fixed Cameras

Fixed cameras come in various forms. They can take photographs of the rear of your car as Gatso and most others do or in some cases the front like the Truvelo ones. The ones that take the front are in fact better from an evidence point of view because they usually capture the driver in the photo too, although they are unpopular because they are blindingly bright and I would imagine that if someone crashed as a result of being temporarily blinded, they’d have a good case if they were following a speeding vehicle rather than being the speeding driver. The newer Truvelo cameras use infrared rather than flash to alleviate this issue. The camera takes 2 photos in quick succession. The camera compares the car’s position on the white lines in the 2 photos to work out the speed by the distance covered. The photos can be manually checked too.

The camera will record the:

• Time and date of the offence.
• The speed you were travelling.
• The speed limit on the road.

There are also fixed cameras on motorway gantries. These are called HADECS. This is short for Highway Agency Digital Enforcement Camera System. They’re used mostly on smart motorways, most notably parts of the M25, M6, M5, and M4. They record a maximum of 5 lanes of traffic and capture vehicles using lane identification, vehicle position and positive vehicle identification. Finally there are the newer REDFLEXspeed cameras that you may have seen that monitor up to 6 lanes of traffic on a motorway. These are the big yellow cameras mounted to the side of the motorway on a gantry. Don’t think that driving in the outside lane will allow you to escape their ever-watchful eye.

Traffic Light and Box Junction Cameras

These work in a similar way to the fixed cameras, the difference being the detection method. This is usually sensors in the road that detect vehicles that cross them after the lights have turned red, or are stationary in the marked area of the box junction.

Average Speed Cameras

Average speed cameras work by recording your speed at two or more different points. They don’t capture your speed in a single flash. Instead, they’ll monitor your speed over a given length of road.

There is a great deal of misunderstanding and rumour related to average speed cameras. Some people obviously don’t grasp the concept of average speed, and so slow down past the cameras and then speed up between them. You’re very likely to get a ticket if you do this. Along with many other well-known driving myths, there’s a thought that changing lanes messes up the average speed calculations for SPECS and VECTOR average speed cameras. Wrong! While older speed cameras may have been ‘tricked’, more advanced cameras now use multiple sets of cameras at each point to track all the lanes and compare average speeds. Either way, speeding through even 10 miles of roadworks with an average speed of 10mph faster than the limit, assuming it’s a 50 limit, will gain you around 2 minutes and at 20mph faster 3.5 minutes. You’ll spend a lot longer than that wishing you’d just stuck to the limit when the fine arrives.

Mobile Speed Cameras

Sitting in a van parked at locations around the UK, mobile speed cameras can be mini Gatsos, laser guns or hand-held radar equipment. Often hidden in dubious places, these catch more people out than most fixed cameras. The bottom line here is don’t speed and you won’t get caught.
The latest iteration of a mobile camera is the Long Ranger mobile speed camera that can capture speeding drivers from 1km away, making it the longest distance speed enforcer on UK roads. The camera can also be used for recording drivers not wearing seatbelts and people using the phone while driving. Trialed in Wales but coming to a police force near you very soon.

So, to round up, the best way not to get caught speeding is of course not to speed. Personally, I get irritated when in a queue following a single slower vehicle. These days it seems, overtaking is a thing of the past and I for one find that sad. As I get older, I hope to be like my mother, who will happily pull in and allow others to pass her. As an ex-tractor driver, I am happy to pull over and let those that want to make progress do just that.