New cameras clock average speed
Cameras measuring speed over several kilometres are being installed in stretches where speeding is especially dangerous
SPEED cameras that measure average speed over several kilometres are being installed from today.
Unlike traditional cameras, that “flash” motorists who are speeding, the so-called radars-tronçon monitor average speed and then take a photo of offending vehicles, using infra-red technology. Stretches concerned will be preceded by informational signs flashing up your speed.
The technology has already been used in countries including the UK, Germany and Holland, and is being installed for the first time today in a tunnel on the RN57 which goes around Besançon in the Doubs.
Another will be put in place next week in the Loire-Atlantique on the Pont de Saint-Nazaire, and another in July on the RN21 at Pujols (Lot-et-Garonne).
Fines will be incurred from August, after a short test period and about 40 more will be installed before the end of the year. Spots chosen will be those where high speed is especially likely to cause accidents, said a spokesman for the national road safety authorities.
These might include places where the road narrows, or tunnels and bridges or where there are a lot of bends.
The aim is partly to slow down motorists who brake for a traditional camera and then speed up again.
The move has been mostly welcomed by road safety organizations. Drivers’ lobbies said it was acceptable as long as the cameras were only used on small dangerous sections of road and not over “30-40km”.
Photo: Urbanhearts photolia.com
