Speed Cameras

Rules and regulations

In December 2001 the then Transport Minister John Spellar announced that safety cameras will in future have to be bright yellow to maximise their visibility to motorists, and he set out strict new guidelines for the visibility and signing of cameras and camera sites. 

However, before you get too excited, the DTLR have confirmed that these regulations do not provide a defence to any speeding prosecution which the police may bring, but are merely a way of regulating the netting-off scheme. Any force which does not comply could be thrown out of the scheme, but you cannot use the breach as a defence to a speeding ticket.

For what it's worth the new rules state that:

• Camera housings must be yellow

• No camera housing should be obscured by bridges, signs, trees or bushes

• Cameras must be visible from 60 metres away in 40 mph or less areas and 100 metres for all other limits

• Camera warning and speed limit reminders must be placed within one kilometre of fixed and mobile camera sites

• Signs must only be placed in areas where camera housings are placed or where mobile cameras are used

• Mobile speed camera users must be highly visible by wearing fluorescent clothing and their vehicles marked with reflective strips

• Camera sites must be reviewed at least every six months to ensure that visibility and signing conditions are being met

The rules will be binding for every police force in and applying to join the netting-off scheme, where money from fines is re-invested in more cameras at dangerous places. Failure to comply will mean that forces may be thrown out of the scheme. However it has no effect on the motorist caught by an unpainted, hidden speed camera. There were originally 8 police forces in the pilot scheme, but now (Feb 2003) most of the country is covered (45 forces out of 51) These are:Avon & Somerset, Bedfordshire & Luton, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cleveland, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Devon & Cornwall, Dorset, Dumfries & Galloway, Dyfed & Powys, Essex, Fife, Grampian, Gwent, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Humberside, Kent & Medway, Lancashire, Leicestershire,  Lincolnshire, London (Met & City), Lothian & Borders, Norfolk, North East Scotland, North Wales, Northamptonshire, Nottingham, North Yorkshire, Northumbria, South Wales, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Strathclyde, Suffolk, Sussex, Tayside, Thames Valley, Warwickshire, West Mercia, West Midlands, West Yorkshire, Wiltshire. 

If for any reason highway authorities consider that yellow colouring is not suitable or there are special circumstances for some site locations, for example in areas of outstanding natural beauty, then a case needs to be made to the Safety Camera Netting off Project Board.

The Department (via DOT Circular Roads 1/92) recommends that cameras should be located at the sites which have the worst record for accidents caused by speeding and that, before deploying them, safety checks should be made to identify any other measures which should be carried out first (e.g. improving road layout, anti-skid surfacing, improved visibility, etc.). DOT Circular Roads 1/92 will shortly be updated and will include guidance on camera visibility.

Laws on speeding in road traffic law

Speeding is one of the most common offences under road traffic law. Despite roads being heavily signposted with varying speed limits, cameras in place and various different police speeding operations in place to stop speeding, individuals continue to do so and continue to get caught.

Speeding - a quick way to lose your licence

Speeding laws have been put in place for a reason. That reason is to avoid any accidents on the road and save lives. In recent years, excessive speeding has been recorded in a whopping 26% of fatal crashes in the UK.

The varied skills of road traffic solicitors

The road can be a dangerous place; there are an endless amount of offences that can be committed or inconveniences caused by someone behind the wheel of a car.