Speed limit enforcement
Encyclopedia
Speed limit enforcement is the action taken by appropriately empowered authorities to check that road vehicles
are complying with the speed limit
in force on roads and highway
s. Methods used include roadside speed traps set up and operated by the police and automated roadside 'speed camera' systems which may incorporate the use of an automatic number plate recognition
system. Traditionally the police would have used stopwatch
es to measure the time taken for a vehicle to cover a known distance, but more recently they have had speed guns and automated in-vehicle
systems at their disposal.
Many jurisdictions operate traffic violations reciprocity
where non-resident drivers are treated like residents when they are stopped for a traffic offense that occurs in another jurisdiction. They also ensure that penalties such as demerit points and the ensuing increase in insurance premiums follow the driver home. The general principle of such interstate, inter-provincial, and/or international compacts is to guarantee the rule 'one license, one record.'
Some groups, such as the National Motorists Association
in the USA, and Motorists Against Detection
in the UK claim that systems are used primarily as a source of revenue rather than to enforce traffic rules for the declared objectives. However, a meta-analysis of studies finds automated ticketing machines that enforce speed limits may have reduced the number of traffic injuries and deaths.
By 1895 some drivers of early lightweight steam-powered autocars
assumed that these would be legally classed as a horseless "carriage" and would therefore be exempt from the need for a preceding pedestrian. A test case was brought by motoring pioneer John Henry Knight
who was subsequently convicted with using a locomotive without a licence. The Locomotives on Highways Act 1896
lifted some of the restrictions introduced by the 1865 Act, notably raising the speed limit for "light locomotives" under 3 tonnes to 14 miles per hour (22.5 km/h). The speed limit was lifted again by the Motor Car Act 1903
to 20 miles per hour (32.2 km/h).
In 1905 The Automobile Association
was formed to help motorists avoid police
speed traps.
A Royal Commission
on 'Motorcars' in the UK reported in 1907 raised concern about the manner in which speed traps were being used to raise revenue in rural areas rather than being used to protect lives in towns. In parliamentary debates at the time it was observed that "Policemen are not stationed in the villages where there are people about who might be in danger, but are hidden in hedges or ditches by the side of the most open roads in the country", "In my opinion they are manifestly absurd as a protection to the public, and they are used in many counties merely as a means of extracting money from the passing traveller in a way which reminds one of the highwaymen of the Middle Ages".
In 1910 in legal test case ('Betts -v- Stevens') between Automobile Association
patrolman and a potentially speeding motorist and the Chief Justice
, Lord Alverston
, the judge ruled that where a patrolman signals to a speeding driver to slow down and thereby avoid a speed-trap, that person would have committed the offence of 'obstructing an officer in the course of his duty' under the Prevention of Crimes Amendment Act 1885
. Subsequently the organisation developed a coded warning system which was used until the 1960s whereby a patrolman would always salute the driver of a passing car which showed a visible AA Badge unless there was a speed trap nearby on the understanding that their officers could not be prosecuted for failing to salute.
Gatsometer BV, founded in 1958 by rally
driver Maurice Gatsonides
, produced the 'Gatso
meter' which was described as "a revolutionary speed-measuring device". Developed initially for improving his race times, it was later marketed as police speed enforcement tool. Gatsometer claim to have developed the first radar
for use with road traffic
in 1971, but this claim is undermined by evidence that radar detectors were already for sale in 1967. Gatsometer BV produced the world's first mobile speed traffic camera in 1982.
VASCAR
was in use in North Carolina
, New York and Indiana
by February 1968.
is a device that semi-automates the timing and average speed calculation of the original manually operated "speed trap". An observer on the ground, in a vehicle or in the air simply presses a button as a vehicle passes two landmarks that are a known distance apart, typically several hundred metres.
Automatic number plate recognition
(ANPR) systems that use a form of optical character recognition
to read the vehicle's licence or registration plate. A computer system reads vehicle registration plates at two or more fixed points along a road, usually hundreds of meters or even kilometers apart, then uses the known distance between them to calculate a vehicle's average speed. If the average speed exceeds the speed limit, then a penalty is automatically issued.).
Police in some countries like France have been known to prosecute drivers for speeding, using an average speed calculated from timestamps on toll road
tickets.
While digital cameras can be used as the primary means of speed detection when combined with automatic number plate recognition
(ANPR) average-speed camera systems, their use is more commonly restricted to evidence gathering where speeding offences are detected by various other types of sensors such as such as Doppler radar
, piezo strips, infrared or laser devices.
Photographs are typically time-stamped by a high resolution timing device so that a vehicle's speed can be checked manually after the fact if necessary using the secondary method of calculating its speed between a series of calibrated lines (known as "Dragon's Teeth") painted on the road surface.
The change from analogue "wet film" to digital technology has revolutionised speed cameras, particularly their maintenance and the back-office processing required to issue penalty notices. Images from digital cameras can be uploaded in seconds to a remote office over a network link, while optical character recognition
software can automate the "reading" of vehicle registration numbers.
Types of camera include Gatso
, Truvelo Combi and D-cam
.
Some drivers use passive radar detector
s or LIDAR detector
s to detect police radar or LIDAR signals, with the intention of avoiding or evading
prosecution by slowing down before entering an enforcement zone. The legal standing of these type of devices varies by jurisdiction. For example, they are legal in most of the United States, but not in most of Canada. Active devices might also be used—in this instance radar or LIDAR signals are typically jammed
with counter emissions. These devices are more frequently illegal than passive devices.
Drivers may flash their lights to approaching drivers to warn them of a speed trap. The legal standing of this action also varies by jurisdiction.
In 2006 the UK Automobile Association
controversially published a road map that included the location for thousands of speed cameras—the first time such information was available in printed form, although more accurate and frequently updated GPS-based information
was freely available for some time before that.
Mobile applications such as Njection
and Trapster
provide mobile information to drivers on speed traps and traffic conditions. These applications rely on users to keep the databases current.
As older vehicle construction regulations allowed a speedometer
accuracy of +/- 10%, in the United Kingdom ACPO
guidelines recommend a tolerance level of the speed limit "+10% +2 mph" (e.g., a maximum tolerance in a 30 mi/h zone of 30 + (30 × 10% = 3) + 2 = 35 mph).
In Germany, a 3 km/h tolerance (4 km/h when speeding over 100 km/h) in favor of the offender is always deducted. Fines for speeding depend on how high above the speed limit the measured speed is and where the offense occurred. Speeding in built-up areas invariably carries higher fines than outside city limits. While fines for minor offenses tend to be moderate, speeds in excess of 20 km/h (12 mph) above the limit in built-up areas and 30 km/h (19 mph) on other roads result in distinctly higher fines and points on the driver's license, and, depending on the speed at which the offender was clocked, may lead to a driving ban of at least one month.
The state of Victoria
in Australia allows for only a 3 kilometres per hour (1.9 mph) tolerance for mobile speed cameras and 2 kilometres per hour (1.2 mph) for fixed cameras on the basis that although the increased risk is lower there are very many more drivers involved which creates a substantial risk across the road network. An alternate view is that police devices are accurate to 1 km/h, and that a 2–3 km/h tolerance is the minimum margin that police require to defeat any challenge in court regarding the accuracy of their speed measurement equipment. Speed tolerance in New South Wales
was an election issue in 2011, following a move by the budget committee of the previous Labor
state government to abolish the 3 km/h margin in order to increase revenue.
Speed limit policy can affect enforcement. According to a 1994 report by the AASHTO
, "experience has ... shown that speed limits set arbitrarily below the reasonable and prudent speed perceived by the public are difficult to enforce, produce noncompliance, encourage disrespect for the law, create unnecessary antagonism toward law enforcement officers, and divert traffic to lesser routes".
In Mexico City
, maximum speed limit on freeways and beltways is set as 80 kilometres per hour (49.7 mph). However, fines are only given when speeding above 90 kilometres per hour (55.9 mph), thus giving a 10 kilometres per hour (6.2 mph) tolerance. Mexican highway patrol may enforce speed laws only when a car is speeding above reasonable speeds in regard of the amount of traffic. Maximum speed for all Mexican highways is 110 kilometres per hour (68.4 mph). Speeding fines are given to those going 130 kilometres per hour (80.8 mph) and up to 220 kilometres per hour (136.7 mph). Police may however place a Dodge Charger
vehicle as a pace car so drivers behind cannot exceed 100 kilometres per hour (62.1 mph); this is common during Summer and Winter holiday season.
Authorities are not able to monitor every vehicle on every road—limited resources generally mean that enforcement needs to be targeted. A New Zealand study concluded that actual enforcement as well as the perceived chance of being caught both contributed to changes in drivers' behaviour.
controversially tried to use a contractual clause in the rental agreement to issue speeding fines to any of its customers that exceeded speed limits as detected by GPS tracking units its cars. The company actions were challenged and defeated in court.
used to protect the digital photograph from tampering was not robust enough to guarantee that it had not been altered. Magistrate Lawrence Lawson demanded that the Roads and Traffic Authority
(RTA) produce an expert witness who could prove the photographs were tamper-proof, but the RTA was unable to provide such evidence. The defendant was acquitted and awarded court costs.
In June 2011, the New South Wales (NSW) government was reported to have raised million over the previous five years from speed cameras. The Roads Minister accused the previous Labor
government of using speed cameras to raise revenue; the Auditor-General
was therefore tasked with investigating all 141 fixed speed cameras in use throughout the state. Following the release of the report, 38 speed cameras, located primarily on highways, were switched off after the Auditor-General determined that they had no significant road safety benefit and that their primary role was revenue raising. The report found the majority of fixed speed cameras had a proven road safety benefit. The report also concluded that it was "too early" to conclude if mobile speed cameras had an impact on road safety, although early results indicated drivers might be speeding less. To address public concerns, the RTA would now monitor the effectiveness of individual fixed speed cameras annually.
In 2004 in a Poltech fixed speed camera on Melbourne's Western Ring Road
recorded a four cylinder Datsun 120Y sedan travelling at 158 km/h, but testing found this vehicle only capable of 117 km/h. A Victorian state government inquiry found that maintenance and accuracy checks had not been done regularly.
Victoria achieved record low road tolls in both 2008 and 2009. Newspaper reports credited a co-ordinated and well-funded campaign that focused on higher risk young drivers, more aggressive policing, increased police activity, drink driving, and in 2009, a 50% increase in the use of mobile speed cameras.
After growing numbers of complaints about incorrect and inappropriate fines, Victoria's Auditor-General plans to investigate whether speed cameras are being used primarily to raise revenue for the state government rather than to improve road safety.
In June 2011, in Victoria, the road toll for the year so far was reported to be "significantly higher"" than it was for the same period of the previous year.
The Victoria government forecasts that a revenue of million will be raised from fines levied on drivers breaking Victorian road rules, a large proportion being from speed limit enforcement, in 2011.
and British Columbia
, and were abolished by Premiers Mike Harris
in 1995 and Gordon Campbell in 2001.
In February 2006, Edmonton
, Alberta
, Canada
erupted in scandal
when it was alleged that two police officers accepted bribes from private contractors who received lucrative contracts to provide speed limit enforcement cameras. The officers and contractor involved now face criminal charges that remain before the courts.
including average and instantaneous speed cameras, however eight counties are to switch off or remove cameras and a further two counties are considering such action.
There has also been debate as to whether the use of such cameras in order to force a driver to confess to the crime of speeding is in violation of European basic human rights; however, in 2007 the European Court of Human Rights
, in O’Halloran and Francis v United Kingdom, found there was no breach of article 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998
in requiring the keepers of cars caught speeding on camera to provide the name of the driver, or to be subject to criminal penalty of an equivalent degree of severity if they failed to do so.
The number of designated traffic officers fell from 15–20% of Police force strength
in 1966 to seven per cent of force strength in 1998, and between 1999 and 2004 by 21%. It is an item of debate whether the reduction in traffic accidents per 100 million miles driven over this time has been due to robotic enforcement. In the seven month period following speed cameras in Oxfordshire being switched off in August 2010, fatalities increased from 12 to 18, a figure not out of line with the variation in fatalities over a ten year period. Plans had been made to switch the cameras back on by November 2010, on the basis of increased speeds at camera sites, which occurred in April 2011. Oxfordshire had followed the lead of Swindon, which encountered a decline in casualties, serious injuries, and fatalities.
, the issue of whether a city has jurisdiction under the Ohio Constitution
to issue citations based on speed cameras was heard by the Ohio Supreme Court on September 18, 2007, in the case of Kelly Mendenhall et al. v. The City of Akron
et al. The court ruled in favor of the city.
They are illegal in Nassau County, Yonkers, Buffalo, Rochester, and Suffolk County, except in toll lanes equipped with E-ZPass
where driving through at a speed in excess of the posted limit can result in a Speed Notice indication.
Some U.S. states that formerly allowed red-light enforcement cameras but not speed limit enforcement cameras ('photo radar'), have now approved, or are considering, the implementation of speed limit enforcement cameras. The Maryland
legislature approved such a program in January 2006. In 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009 the California
legislature considered, but did not pass, bills to implement speed limit enforcement cameras. Tennessee legislators are also considering expanding their speed limit enforcement cameras after successes in Chattanooga such as generating $158,811 in revenue in the first three months.
A 2007 study of speed cameras on the Arizona State Route 101 in Scottsdale
found a 50% reduction in the total crash frequency, with injuries falling by 40% however rear-end collisions increased by 55%.
As of late 2008 cameras are being placed along all Phoenix
area freeways capturing drivers doing speeds greater than 11 mph over the posted speed limit. Over 100 new cameras are expected to be up and running by 2009.
As of 2009 speed cameras existed in 48 communities in the United States
, including in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington, and Washington, DC.
In the United States
, it is common for all installation, operation, and verification procedures to be carried out by private companies that in some States receive payment based on the number of infringements they issue, and often under no testing regime whatsoever, however these units are required by law to take at least two pictures of each vehicle.
Opposition groups have formed in some locations where automated traffic enforcement has been used. In the US city of Scottsdale Arizona, an activist group CameraFraud was formed and staged sign-wave protests and petition drives to oppose the use of speed limit enforcement cameras ('photo radar'). In the 2008 elections in nearby Pinal County, Paul Babeau won an election for Sheriff after making a campaign promise to eliminate speed cameras.
It has been announced that Arizona will not renew its contract with Redflex, the company that operates the cameras. Baker, Louisiana Still contracts with Redflex. This association is the subject of legislative action.
, the fixed speed cameras on motorways are announced with a sign about half a kilometer before: Pour votre sécurité, contrôles automatiques (For your safety, automatic controls) and marked in French motorway maps.
it is strictly forbidden to announce speed controls. If the software of navigation equipment includes the locations of fixed speed cameras, the devices can be seized and destroyed. This also applies to mobile phones or handheld devices with the appropriate function.
, radar detectors are prohibited, however, current mobile controls are mentioned by some radio stations, which is not illegal.
, red light camera
s are often combined with speed cameras in the same unit.
Vehicle
A vehicle is a device that is designed or used to transport people or cargo. Most often vehicles are manufactured, such as bicycles, cars, motorcycles, trains, ships, boats, and aircraft....
are complying with the speed limit
Speed limit
Road speed limits are used in most countries to regulate the speed of road vehicles. Speed limits may define maximum , minimum or no speed limit and are normally indicated using a traffic sign...
in force on roads and highway
Highway
A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...
s. Methods used include roadside speed traps set up and operated by the police and automated roadside 'speed camera' systems which may incorporate the use of an automatic number plate recognition
Automatic number plate recognition
Automatic number plate recognition is a mass surveillance method that uses optical character recognition on images to read the license plates on vehicles. They can use existing closed-circuit television or road-rule enforcement cameras, or ones specifically designed for the task...
system. Traditionally the police would have used stopwatch
Stopwatch
A stopwatch is a handheld timepiece designed to measure the amount of time elapsed from a particular time when activated to when the piece is deactivated. A large digital version of a stopwatch designed for viewing at a distance, as in a sports stadium, is called a stopclock.The timing functions...
es to measure the time taken for a vehicle to cover a known distance, but more recently they have had speed guns and automated in-vehicle
VASCAR
VASCAR is a type of device for calculating the speed of a moving vehicle. The first VASCAR device was created in 1966 by Arthur Marshall...
systems at their disposal.
Many jurisdictions operate traffic violations reciprocity
Traffic Violations Reciprocity
Under traffic violations reciprocity agreements, non-resident drivers are treated like residents when they are stopped for a traffic offense that occurs in another jurisdiction. They also ensure that punishments such as "points" on one's license and the ensuring increase in insurance premiums...
where non-resident drivers are treated like residents when they are stopped for a traffic offense that occurs in another jurisdiction. They also ensure that penalties such as demerit points and the ensuing increase in insurance premiums follow the driver home. The general principle of such interstate, inter-provincial, and/or international compacts is to guarantee the rule 'one license, one record.'
Some groups, such as the National Motorists Association
National Motorists Association
The National Motorists Association is a grassroots organization whose revenue is membership- and donation-driven. It was created in 1982 to "to represent and protect the interests of North American motorists", and advocates a "Motorist Bill of Rights".-History:The NMA, originally called the...
in the USA, and Motorists Against Detection
Captain Gatso
Captain Gatso is a pseudonymous England-based political activist involved in motorists' rights, specifically relating to Speed limit enforcement...
in the UK claim that systems are used primarily as a source of revenue rather than to enforce traffic rules for the declared objectives. However, a meta-analysis of studies finds automated ticketing machines that enforce speed limits may have reduced the number of traffic injuries and deaths.
History
Traffic calming was built into the UK 1865 'Locomotive Act', which set a speed limit of 2 miles per hour (3.2 km/h) in towns and 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h) out of town, by requiring a man with a red flag to walk 60 yards (54.9 m) ahead of qualifying powered vehicles. The distance ahead of the pedestrian crew member was reduced to 20 yards in 1878 and the vehicles were required to stop on the sight of a horse. The speed limit being effectively redundant as vehicle speeds could not exceed the speed at which a person could walk.By 1895 some drivers of early lightweight steam-powered autocars
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
assumed that these would be legally classed as a horseless "carriage" and would therefore be exempt from the need for a preceding pedestrian. A test case was brought by motoring pioneer John Henry Knight
John Henry Knight
John Henry Knight , from Farnham, was a wealthy engineer, landowner and inventor. With the help of the engineer George Parfitt, he built Britain’s first petrol-powered motor vehicle...
who was subsequently convicted with using a locomotive without a licence. The Locomotives on Highways Act 1896
Locomotives on Highways Act 1896
The Locomotives on Highways Act 1896 removed the strict rules and UK speed limits that were included in the earlier Locomotive Acts which had greatly restricted the adoption of motorised vehicles in the United Kingdom...
lifted some of the restrictions introduced by the 1865 Act, notably raising the speed limit for "light locomotives" under 3 tonnes to 14 miles per hour (22.5 km/h). The speed limit was lifted again by the Motor Car Act 1903
Motor Car Act 1903
The Motor Car Act 1903 introduced registration of motor cars and licensing of drivers in the United Kingdom and increased the speed limit.-Context:...
to 20 miles per hour (32.2 km/h).
In 1905 The Automobile Association
The Automobile Association
The Automobile Association , a British motoring association founded in 1905 was demutualised in 1999 to become a private limited company which currently provides car insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans and motoring advice, and other services...
was formed to help motorists avoid police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
speed traps.
A Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
on 'Motorcars' in the UK reported in 1907 raised concern about the manner in which speed traps were being used to raise revenue in rural areas rather than being used to protect lives in towns. In parliamentary debates at the time it was observed that "Policemen are not stationed in the villages where there are people about who might be in danger, but are hidden in hedges or ditches by the side of the most open roads in the country", "In my opinion they are manifestly absurd as a protection to the public, and they are used in many counties merely as a means of extracting money from the passing traveller in a way which reminds one of the highwaymen of the Middle Ages".
In 1910 in legal test case ('Betts -v- Stevens') between Automobile Association
The Automobile Association
The Automobile Association , a British motoring association founded in 1905 was demutualised in 1999 to become a private limited company which currently provides car insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans and motoring advice, and other services...
patrolman and a potentially speeding motorist and the Chief Justice
Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary and President of the Courts of England and Wales. Historically, he was the second-highest judge of the Courts of England and Wales, after the Lord Chancellor, but that changed as a result of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005,...
, Lord Alverston
Richard Webster, 1st Viscount Alverstone
Richard Everard Webster, 1st Viscount Alverstone, GCMG, QC was a British barrister, politician and judge who served in many high political and judicial offices.-Background and education:...
, the judge ruled that where a patrolman signals to a speeding driver to slow down and thereby avoid a speed-trap, that person would have committed the offence of 'obstructing an officer in the course of his duty' under the Prevention of Crimes Amendment Act 1885
Prevention of Crimes Amendment Act 1885
The Prevention of Crimes Amendment Act 1885 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It became law on August 14, 1885....
. Subsequently the organisation developed a coded warning system which was used until the 1960s whereby a patrolman would always salute the driver of a passing car which showed a visible AA Badge unless there was a speed trap nearby on the understanding that their officers could not be prosecuted for failing to salute.
Gatsometer BV, founded in 1958 by rally
Rallying
Rallying, also known as rally racing, is a form of auto racing that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars...
driver Maurice Gatsonides
Maurice Gatsonides
Maurice Gatsonides was a Dutch rally driver and inventor. Gatsonides was born in Central Java in the former Dutch East Indies...
, produced the 'Gatso
Gatso
Gatso is the brand that Gatsometer BV use on their traffic enforcement cameras, most notably their speed cameras and red light cameras. The most commonly encountered Gatso speed cameras emit radar beams to measure the speed of a passing vehicle...
meter' which was described as "a revolutionary speed-measuring device". Developed initially for improving his race times, it was later marketed as police speed enforcement tool. Gatsometer claim to have developed the first radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
for use with road traffic
Traffic
Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel...
in 1971, but this claim is undermined by evidence that radar detectors were already for sale in 1967. Gatsometer BV produced the world's first mobile speed traffic camera in 1982.
VASCAR
VASCAR
VASCAR is a type of device for calculating the speed of a moving vehicle. The first VASCAR device was created in 1966 by Arthur Marshall...
was in use in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, New York and Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
by February 1968.
Methods
Speed limits were originally enforced by manually timing or "clocking" vehicles travelling through "speed traps" defined between two fixed landmarks along a roadway that were a known distance apart; the vehicle's average speed was then determined by dividing the distance travelled by the time taken to travel it. Setting up a speed trap that could provide legally satisfactory evidence was usually time consuming and error prone, as it relied on its human operators.Average speed measurement
VASCARVASCAR
VASCAR is a type of device for calculating the speed of a moving vehicle. The first VASCAR device was created in 1966 by Arthur Marshall...
is a device that semi-automates the timing and average speed calculation of the original manually operated "speed trap". An observer on the ground, in a vehicle or in the air simply presses a button as a vehicle passes two landmarks that are a known distance apart, typically several hundred metres.
Automatic number plate recognition
Automatic number plate recognition
Automatic number plate recognition is a mass surveillance method that uses optical character recognition on images to read the license plates on vehicles. They can use existing closed-circuit television or road-rule enforcement cameras, or ones specifically designed for the task...
(ANPR) systems that use a form of optical character recognition
Optical character recognition
Optical character recognition, usually abbreviated to OCR, is the mechanical or electronic translation of scanned images of handwritten, typewritten or printed text into machine-encoded text. It is widely used to convert books and documents into electronic files, to computerize a record-keeping...
to read the vehicle's licence or registration plate. A computer system reads vehicle registration plates at two or more fixed points along a road, usually hundreds of meters or even kilometers apart, then uses the known distance between them to calculate a vehicle's average speed. If the average speed exceeds the speed limit, then a penalty is automatically issued.).
Police in some countries like France have been known to prosecute drivers for speeding, using an average speed calculated from timestamps on toll road
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
tickets.
Instantaneous speed measurement
Instantaneous speed cameras measure the speed at a single point. These may either be a semi-permanent fixture or be established on a temporary basis. A variety of technologies can be used:- Radar speed gunRadar gunA radar speed gun is a small doppler radar unit used to measure the speed of moving objects, including vehicles, pitched baseballs, runners and other moving objects. Radar speed guns may be hand-held, vehicle-mounted or static...
s use a microwaveMicrowaveMicrowaves, a subset of radio waves, have wavelengths ranging from as long as one meter to as short as one millimeter, or equivalently, with frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz. This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF , and various sources use different boundaries...
signal that is directed at a vehicle; the Doppler effectDoppler effectThe Doppler effect , named after Austrian physicist Christian Doppler who proposed it in 1842 in Prague, is the change in frequency of a wave for an observer moving relative to the source of the wave. It is commonly heard when a vehicle sounding a siren or horn approaches, passes, and recedes from...
is used to derive its speed. - LIDAR speed gunLIDAR speed gunA LIDAR speed gun is a device used by the police for speed limit enforcement which uses LIDAR to detect the speed of a vehicle. Unlike Radar speed guns which rely on doppler shifts to measure the speed of a vehicle these devices allow a police officer to measure the speed of an individual vehicle...
s utilize the time of flightSpeed of lightThe speed of light in vacuum, usually denoted by c, is a physical constant important in many areas of physics. Its value is 299,792,458 metres per second, a figure that is exact since the length of the metre is defined from this constant and the international standard for time...
of laser pulses to make a series of timestamped measurements of a vehicle's distance from the laser; the data is then used to calculate the vehicle's speed. - Sensors embedded in the roadway in pairs, for example electromagnetic inductionElectromagnetic inductionElectromagnetic induction is the production of an electric current across a conductor moving through a magnetic field. It underlies the operation of generators, transformers, induction motors, electric motors, synchronous motors, and solenoids....
or Piezo-electricPiezoelectricityPiezoelectricity is the charge which accumulates in certain solid materials in response to applied mechanical stress. The word piezoelectricity means electricity resulting from pressure...
strips a set distance apart). - Infra-red light sensors located perpendicular to the road, e.g. TIRTLTIRTLThe Infra-Red Traffic Logger, more commonly known simply by the acronym TIRTL, is a multi-purpose traffic sensor that can be used as a traffic counter, speed sensor, red light camera sensor, heavy vehicle tracker, overheight vehicle sensor, rail crossing sensor and network management system...
Pacing
Officers in some jurisdictions may also use pacing, particularly where a more convenient radar speed measuring device is not available—a police vehicle's speed is matched to that of a target vehicle, and the calibrated speedometer of the patrol car used to infer the other vehicle's speed.Other
Some jurisdictions such as Australia, allow prosecutions based on a subjective speed assessment by a police officer.Evidence gathering
Automatic number plate recognition
Automatic number plate recognition is a mass surveillance method that uses optical character recognition on images to read the license plates on vehicles. They can use existing closed-circuit television or road-rule enforcement cameras, or ones specifically designed for the task...
(ANPR) average-speed camera systems, their use is more commonly restricted to evidence gathering where speeding offences are detected by various other types of sensors such as such as Doppler radar
Doppler radar
A Doppler radar is a specialized radar that makes use of the Doppler effect to produce velocity data about objects at a distance. It does this by beaming a microwave signal towards a desired target and listening for its reflection, then analyzing how the frequency of the returned signal has been...
, piezo strips, infrared or laser devices.
Photographs are typically time-stamped by a high resolution timing device so that a vehicle's speed can be checked manually after the fact if necessary using the secondary method of calculating its speed between a series of calibrated lines (known as "Dragon's Teeth") painted on the road surface.
The change from analogue "wet film" to digital technology has revolutionised speed cameras, particularly their maintenance and the back-office processing required to issue penalty notices. Images from digital cameras can be uploaded in seconds to a remote office over a network link, while optical character recognition
Optical character recognition
Optical character recognition, usually abbreviated to OCR, is the mechanical or electronic translation of scanned images of handwritten, typewritten or printed text into machine-encoded text. It is widely used to convert books and documents into electronic files, to computerize a record-keeping...
software can automate the "reading" of vehicle registration numbers.
Types of camera include Gatso
Gatso
Gatso is the brand that Gatsometer BV use on their traffic enforcement cameras, most notably their speed cameras and red light cameras. The most commonly encountered Gatso speed cameras emit radar beams to measure the speed of a passing vehicle...
, Truvelo Combi and D-cam
D-cam
d-cam is a new type of digital speed camera produced by the British subsidiary of South African company Truvelo Manufacturers Ltd. Currently being tested by Transport for London on the A4 Great West Road in London, the camera does not flash and can be used rear or forward-facing...
.
Avoidance and evasion
Radar detector
A radar detector is an electronic device used by motorists to detect if their speed is being monitored by police or law enforcement using a radar gun. Most radar detectors are used so the driver can reduce the car's speed before being ticketed for speeding...
s or LIDAR detector
LIDAR detector
A LIDAR detector or laser detector is a passive device designed to detect the infrared emissions of law enforcement agencies' LIDAR speed detection devices and warn motorists that their speed is being measured....
s to detect police radar or LIDAR signals, with the intention of avoiding or evading
Evasion
Evasion may refer to:*Évasion, a Canadian French-language travel and adventure television channel*Evasion , a deceptive act*Evasion , to avoid government mandate through specious means...
prosecution by slowing down before entering an enforcement zone. The legal standing of these type of devices varies by jurisdiction. For example, they are legal in most of the United States, but not in most of Canada. Active devices might also be used—in this instance radar or LIDAR signals are typically jammed
Radar jamming and deception
Radar jamming and deception is the intentional emission of radio frequency signals to interfere with the operation of a radar by saturating its receiver with noise or false information...
with counter emissions. These devices are more frequently illegal than passive devices.
Drivers may flash their lights to approaching drivers to warn them of a speed trap. The legal standing of this action also varies by jurisdiction.
In 2006 the UK Automobile Association
The Automobile Association
The Automobile Association , a British motoring association founded in 1905 was demutualised in 1999 to become a private limited company which currently provides car insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans and motoring advice, and other services...
controversially published a road map that included the location for thousands of speed cameras—the first time such information was available in printed form, although more accurate and frequently updated GPS-based information
Point of interest
A point of interest, or POI, is a specific point location that someone may find useful or interesting. An example is a point on the Earth representing the location of the Space Needle, or a point on Mars representing the location of the mountain, Olympus Mons.The term is widely used in...
was freely available for some time before that.
Mobile applications such as Njection
Njection
Njection is a free, web-based resource for car and driving enthusiasts. According to the NY Times, the site and company was the first to use Bing Maps Platform to pinpoint speed traps and traffic accidents in the United States and parts of Europe ....
and Trapster
Trapster
The Trapster , originally known as Paste Pot Pete, is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics Universe.-Publication history:...
provide mobile information to drivers on speed traps and traffic conditions. These applications rely on users to keep the databases current.
Lottery
Kevin Richardson proposed the idea of rewarding drivers travelling at or below the posted limit with a cash lottery, funded by the fines on speeding drivers. This was demonstrated in Stockholm, Sweden, in November 2010.Tolerances
Speed limits may not be enforced for speeds close to the legal limit. In the United States, speeding enforcement tolerance is usually up to the discretion of the arresting officer. Some states (such as Pennsylvania) have official tolerances.As older vehicle construction regulations allowed a speedometer
Speedometer
A speedometer is a gauge that measures and displays the instantaneous speed of a land vehicle. Now universally fitted to motor vehicles, they started to be available as options in the 1900s, and as standard equipment from about 1910 onwards. Speedometers for other vehicles have specific names...
accuracy of +/- 10%, in the United Kingdom ACPO
Association of Chief Police Officers
The Association of Chief Police Officers , established in 1948, is a private limited company that leads the development of policing practice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.ACPO provides a forum for chief police officers to share ideas and coordinates the strategic...
guidelines recommend a tolerance level of the speed limit "+10% +2 mph" (e.g., a maximum tolerance in a 30 mi/h zone of 30 + (30 × 10% = 3) + 2 = 35 mph).
In Germany, a 3 km/h tolerance (4 km/h when speeding over 100 km/h) in favor of the offender is always deducted. Fines for speeding depend on how high above the speed limit the measured speed is and where the offense occurred. Speeding in built-up areas invariably carries higher fines than outside city limits. While fines for minor offenses tend to be moderate, speeds in excess of 20 km/h (12 mph) above the limit in built-up areas and 30 km/h (19 mph) on other roads result in distinctly higher fines and points on the driver's license, and, depending on the speed at which the offender was clocked, may lead to a driving ban of at least one month.
The state of Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
in Australia allows for only a 3 kilometres per hour (1.9 mph) tolerance for mobile speed cameras and 2 kilometres per hour (1.2 mph) for fixed cameras on the basis that although the increased risk is lower there are very many more drivers involved which creates a substantial risk across the road network. An alternate view is that police devices are accurate to 1 km/h, and that a 2–3 km/h tolerance is the minimum margin that police require to defeat any challenge in court regarding the accuracy of their speed measurement equipment. Speed tolerance in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
was an election issue in 2011, following a move by the budget committee of the previous Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
state government to abolish the 3 km/h margin in order to increase revenue.
Speed limit policy can affect enforcement. According to a 1994 report by the AASHTO
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
AASHTO, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols and guidelines which are used in highway design and construction throughout the United States...
, "experience has ... shown that speed limits set arbitrarily below the reasonable and prudent speed perceived by the public are difficult to enforce, produce noncompliance, encourage disrespect for the law, create unnecessary antagonism toward law enforcement officers, and divert traffic to lesser routes".
In Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, maximum speed limit on freeways and beltways is set as 80 kilometres per hour (49.7 mph). However, fines are only given when speeding above 90 kilometres per hour (55.9 mph), thus giving a 10 kilometres per hour (6.2 mph) tolerance. Mexican highway patrol may enforce speed laws only when a car is speeding above reasonable speeds in regard of the amount of traffic. Maximum speed for all Mexican highways is 110 kilometres per hour (68.4 mph). Speeding fines are given to those going 130 kilometres per hour (80.8 mph) and up to 220 kilometres per hour (136.7 mph). Police may however place a Dodge Charger
Dodge Charger
The Dodge Charger is an American automobile manufactured by the Dodge division of Chrysler. There have been several different Dodge vehicles, built on three different platforms and sizes, all bearing the Charger nameplate...
vehicle as a pace car so drivers behind cannot exceed 100 kilometres per hour (62.1 mph); this is common during Summer and Winter holiday season.
Law enforcement approaches
Local conditions, law and police practices mean that the tactics adopted to catch speeding motorists vary considerably. In some regions, police may adopt a more subtle approach, concealing themselves and their equipment as much as possible; other jurisdictions require highly visible policing, with cameras painted yellow, and camera operators not permitted to use approaches such as attaching the camera to what may appear to be a broken-down vehicle when enforcing speed limits.Authorities are not able to monitor every vehicle on every road—limited resources generally mean that enforcement needs to be targeted. A New Zealand study concluded that actual enforcement as well as the perceived chance of being caught both contributed to changes in drivers' behaviour.
Extra-judicial enforcement
In 2001, Acme-Rent-a-Car in ConnecticutConnecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
controversially tried to use a contractual clause in the rental agreement to issue speeding fines to any of its customers that exceeded speed limits as detected by GPS tracking units its cars. The company actions were challenged and defeated in court.
Photo-enforcement employee deaths
Doug Georgianni, 51, was shot as he operated a photo radar van on a Phoenix freeway and later died at a hospital.Reprisal attacks on equipment
Retribution attacks on photo enforcement equipment has become commonplace throughout the world.New South Wales
In August 2005, in Sydney, Australia a speed camera photograph was challenged on the basis that an MD5 cryptographic hash functionCryptographic hash function
A cryptographic hash function is a deterministic procedure that takes an arbitrary block of data and returns a fixed-size bit string, the hash value, such that an accidental or intentional change to the data will change the hash value...
used to protect the digital photograph from tampering was not robust enough to guarantee that it had not been altered. Magistrate Lawrence Lawson demanded that the Roads and Traffic Authority
Roads and Traffic Authority
The Roads and Traffic Authority is a former New South Wales government agency that was responsible for major road infrastructure, licensing of drivers, and registration of motor vehicles. The RTA directly managed State roads and provided funding to local councils for regional and local roads...
(RTA) produce an expert witness who could prove the photographs were tamper-proof, but the RTA was unable to provide such evidence. The defendant was acquitted and awarded court costs.
In June 2011, the New South Wales (NSW) government was reported to have raised million over the previous five years from speed cameras. The Roads Minister accused the previous Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
government of using speed cameras to raise revenue; the Auditor-General
Australian National Audit Office
The Australian National Audit Office is the national auditor for the Parliament of Australia and Government of Australia. It reports directly to Parliament but is administratively located in the Portfolio of Prime Minister and Cabinet....
was therefore tasked with investigating all 141 fixed speed cameras in use throughout the state. Following the release of the report, 38 speed cameras, located primarily on highways, were switched off after the Auditor-General determined that they had no significant road safety benefit and that their primary role was revenue raising. The report found the majority of fixed speed cameras had a proven road safety benefit. The report also concluded that it was "too early" to conclude if mobile speed cameras had an impact on road safety, although early results indicated drivers might be speeding less. To address public concerns, the RTA would now monitor the effectiveness of individual fixed speed cameras annually.
South Australia
It is predicted that the South Australia (SA) government will raise million in the 2011-12 year from speed limit enforcement activities. They raised A$114 million in 2010-11. The SA government are resisting moves by their opposition to commission an inquiry into whether speed cameras are being used effectively and efficiently: to improve road safety, to raise revenue, or both.Victoria
M80 Ring Road, Melbourne
The M80 Ring Road, more formally known as the Western Ring Road or Metropolitan Ring Road, is a freeway in Melbourne, Australia connecting the northern suburbs and the western suburbs to various freeways:* the Hume Freeway;...
recorded a four cylinder Datsun 120Y sedan travelling at 158 km/h, but testing found this vehicle only capable of 117 km/h. A Victorian state government inquiry found that maintenance and accuracy checks had not been done regularly.
Victoria achieved record low road tolls in both 2008 and 2009. Newspaper reports credited a co-ordinated and well-funded campaign that focused on higher risk young drivers, more aggressive policing, increased police activity, drink driving, and in 2009, a 50% increase in the use of mobile speed cameras.
After growing numbers of complaints about incorrect and inappropriate fines, Victoria's Auditor-General plans to investigate whether speed cameras are being used primarily to raise revenue for the state government rather than to improve road safety.
In June 2011, in Victoria, the road toll for the year so far was reported to be "significantly higher"" than it was for the same period of the previous year.
The Victoria government forecasts that a revenue of million will be raised from fines levied on drivers breaking Victorian road rules, a large proportion being from speed limit enforcement, in 2011.
Canada
Speed limit enforcement cameras were a substantial election issue in the provinces of OntarioOntario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, and were abolished by Premiers Mike Harris
Mike Harris
Michael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...
in 1995 and Gordon Campbell in 2001.
In February 2006, Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
erupted in scandal
Scandal
A scandal is a widely publicized allegation or set of allegations that damages the reputation of an institution, individual or creed...
when it was alleged that two police officers accepted bribes from private contractors who received lucrative contracts to provide speed limit enforcement cameras. The officers and contractor involved now face criminal charges that remain before the courts.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom uses a variety of methods to enforce its road speed limitsRoad speed limit enforcement in the United Kingdom
Road speed limit enforcement in the United Kingdom is the action taken by appropriately empowered authorities to attempt to persuade road vehicle users to comply with the speed limits in force on the UK's roads...
including average and instantaneous speed cameras, however eight counties are to switch off or remove cameras and a further two counties are considering such action.
There has also been debate as to whether the use of such cameras in order to force a driver to confess to the crime of speeding is in violation of European basic human rights; however, in 2007 the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
, in O’Halloran and Francis v United Kingdom, found there was no breach of article 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998
Human Rights Act 1998
The Human Rights Act 1998 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received Royal Assent on 9 November 1998, and mostly came into force on 2 October 2000. Its aim is to "give further effect" in UK law to the rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights...
in requiring the keepers of cars caught speeding on camera to provide the name of the driver, or to be subject to criminal penalty of an equivalent degree of severity if they failed to do so.
The number of designated traffic officers fell from 15–20% of Police force strength
in 1966 to seven per cent of force strength in 1998, and between 1999 and 2004 by 21%. It is an item of debate whether the reduction in traffic accidents per 100 million miles driven over this time has been due to robotic enforcement. In the seven month period following speed cameras in Oxfordshire being switched off in August 2010, fatalities increased from 12 to 18, a figure not out of line with the variation in fatalities over a ten year period. Plans had been made to switch the cameras back on by November 2010, on the basis of increased speeds at camera sites, which occurred in April 2011. Oxfordshire had followed the lead of Swindon, which encountered a decline in casualties, serious injuries, and fatalities.
United States automated ticketing machines
In the U.S. state of OhioOhio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, the issue of whether a city has jurisdiction under the Ohio Constitution
Ohio Constitution
The Ohio Constitution is the basic governing document of the State of Ohio, which in 1803 became the 17th state to join the United States of America. Ohio has had two constitutions since statehood was granted....
to issue citations based on speed cameras was heard by the Ohio Supreme Court on September 18, 2007, in the case of Kelly Mendenhall et al. v. The City of Akron
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
et al. The court ruled in favor of the city.
They are illegal in Nassau County, Yonkers, Buffalo, Rochester, and Suffolk County, except in toll lanes equipped with E-ZPass
E-ZPass
E-ZPass is an electronic toll-collection system used on most tolled roads, bridges, and tunnels in the northeastern US, south to Virginia and West Virginia, and west to Illinois. Currently, there are 25 agencies spread across 14 states that make up the . All member agencies use the same technology,...
where driving through at a speed in excess of the posted limit can result in a Speed Notice indication.
Some U.S. states that formerly allowed red-light enforcement cameras but not speed limit enforcement cameras ('photo radar'), have now approved, or are considering, the implementation of speed limit enforcement cameras. The Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
legislature approved such a program in January 2006. In 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009 the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
legislature considered, but did not pass, bills to implement speed limit enforcement cameras. Tennessee legislators are also considering expanding their speed limit enforcement cameras after successes in Chattanooga such as generating $158,811 in revenue in the first three months.
A 2007 study of speed cameras on the Arizona State Route 101 in Scottsdale
Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...
found a 50% reduction in the total crash frequency, with injuries falling by 40% however rear-end collisions increased by 55%.
As of late 2008 cameras are being placed along all Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
area freeways capturing drivers doing speeds greater than 11 mph over the posted speed limit. Over 100 new cameras are expected to be up and running by 2009.
As of 2009 speed cameras existed in 48 communities in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, including in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington, and Washington, DC.
In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, it is common for all installation, operation, and verification procedures to be carried out by private companies that in some States receive payment based on the number of infringements they issue, and often under no testing regime whatsoever, however these units are required by law to take at least two pictures of each vehicle.
Opposition groups have formed in some locations where automated traffic enforcement has been used. In the US city of Scottsdale Arizona, an activist group CameraFraud was formed and staged sign-wave protests and petition drives to oppose the use of speed limit enforcement cameras ('photo radar'). In the 2008 elections in nearby Pinal County, Paul Babeau won an election for Sheriff after making a campaign promise to eliminate speed cameras.
It has been announced that Arizona will not renew its contract with Redflex, the company that operates the cameras. Baker, Louisiana Still contracts with Redflex. This association is the subject of legislative action.
France
In FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, the fixed speed cameras on motorways are announced with a sign about half a kilometer before: Pour votre sécurité, contrôles automatiques (For your safety, automatic controls) and marked in French motorway maps.
Switzerland
In SwitzerlandSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
it is strictly forbidden to announce speed controls. If the software of navigation equipment includes the locations of fixed speed cameras, the devices can be seized and destroyed. This also applies to mobile phones or handheld devices with the appropriate function.
Germany
In GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, radar detectors are prohibited, however, current mobile controls are mentioned by some radio stations, which is not illegal.
Netherlands
In the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, red light camera
Red light camera
A red light camera is a traffic enforcement camera that captures an image of a vehicle which has entered an intersection against a red traffic light. By automatically photographing vehicles that run red lights, the camera produces evidence that assists authorities in their enforcement of traffic laws...
s are often combined with speed cameras in the same unit.