Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Mike Kelly & Rachel Hains

Speed cameras: The ones which can see you fined and those which can't

Almost three out of every four motoring offences involve drivers flouting the speed limit. In fact, according to the government, between October to December last year, 42 per cent of cars in free-flowing conditions exceeded the speed limit on motorways.

Speeding ticket fines will vary depending on the severity of the offence, however, at a minimum, you will be charged £100. You can also get three points on your licence.

There are up to 15 different types of road cameras in the UK but only some have the power to fine you. Chronicle Live recently took a look at the most common ones found on British roads, and revealed which speed cameras fine you and which do not.

Here is what they found...

Gatso - speed camera. FINE

Gatso - speed camera (Reach plc)

Since the introduction of speed cameras on Britain’s roads in 1992, the Gatsometer BV speed camera has become the most commonly used camera in the UK. They can be now found, of course, in digital format. They are found all over the country, particularly near accident black-spots.

Mobile speed camera. FINE

Mobile speed camera (ncjMedia)

Operated by police officers — these devices are hand-held or mounted in vans that are normally parked in lay-bys. The cameras either use laser or radar technology. They can appear anywhere at any time.

Highways Agency CCTV cameras - not a speed camera. NO FINE

Highways Agency CCTV cameras (Unknown)

These are used to mon­i­tor traf­fic flows pri­mar­ily for the pur­poses of traf­fic man­age­ment. They also pro­vide the Highways England with a valu­able appre­ci­a­tion of how road-users make use of the net­work. This knowl­edge helps ensure future public-funded invest­ment is made most effectively. They are not used to catch speeding motorists. They are found on motorways and major A-roads.

SPECS - speed camera. FINE

SPECS speed camera (Publicity picture)

These big boys are able to monitor four lanes simultaneously, sets of these cameras are mounted on gantries. These are equipped with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and photograph every vehicle that passes beneath them.

The data is then sent to another set of cameras further down the road (a minimum of 200m away). The time that it takes for the vehicle to travel between these two set points is established, and as a result, a motorist’s average speed between the two points is worked out. Speed fines can result. Fitted with infra-red illuminators, they work night and day, and in all weathers. They are found on motorways and dual carriageways all over the country.

Highways Agency ANPR Cameras - not a speed camera. NO FINE

Highways Agency ANPR (Reach)

The Highways England utilises Automatic Number Plate Recognition ANPR cam­eras, iden­ti­fi­able by their bright green hous­ings, to sup­port traf­fic man­age­ment by send­ing data to the NTOC from which traf­fic flow infor­ma­tion is cal­cu­lated. The ANPR cam­eras do not cap­ture individual num­ber plates pass­ing a cam­era instal­la­tion – they are used to determine traffic levels. There are restric­tions, in accor­dance with the Data Pro­tec­tion Act 1998, on the Highways England’s use and stor­age of data from these cam­eras.

The ANPR data is per­ma­nently encrypted at the moment of ‘cap­ture’ into a non-unique text string to pre­vent iden­ti­fi­ca­tion of indi­vid­ual vehi­cles (i.e. full num­ber plate details are not recorded or stored).

Police Automatic Number Plate Recognition. Fine

These record number plates of every passing vehicle, then store information to ‘help detect, deter and disrupt criminality at a local, force, regional and national level’.

Records can be accessed for up to two years. If a vehicle is of interest to police, officers monitoring it can order a patrol car team to stop the driver and, if necessary, make an arrest. They are found across the country.

For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.