Record 5,600 speed cameras to be operating in France by 2023

There will be a record 5,600 speed cameras (radars) operating in France by the end of 2023, as hundreds of new devices are deployed over the year.

This number will include fixed, roadwork and private car speed cameras, according to road safety news site Radars-auto.com.

Read more: French private speed camera cars caught over 500,000 drivers in 2021

Radars urbains, which monitor vehicle speeds but can also catch drivers jumping red lights, will grow in number from under 100 to around 200 in 2023. There will also be some 500 fake cameras which are not actually in operation.

French roads will also continue to house classic fixed speed cameras, although their number will fall by 200 over the next year as they are replaced by more modern devices such as urban cameras, which can generally capture speeding vehicles in both directions, from the front and back, as well as people running red lights.

In addition to these urban cameras, there will by the end of next year be 600 mobile speed traps located in road works areas, 200 more than there are currently.

These devices enable the authorities to make sure that drivers are sticking to the speed limits imposed in areas where there is a non-permanent risk, for example, when motorway lanes have been moved closer together for works.

The number of radars discriminants – which, as the name suggests, can apply different speed limits depending on whether it is a light vehicle or a HGV going past – will increase from 700 to 800.

Private speed camera cars are also growing increasingly common in France, and are gradually being introduced to all French regions. In 2023, they will begin operating in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Ile-de-France and Occitanie, meaning that by the end of the year, they will be present across the country.

Read more: 12 questions and answers about private speed radar cars in France

In all, there will be around 1,000 speed camera cars – operated both by the police and by private companies instructed by state authorities – by late next year.

There will also be 50 average speed check cameras, 400 devices devoted to red lights, 50 level crossing cameras and 1,500 radars tourelles, which are also capable of detecting offences other than speeding and are also being used to replace the classic fixed speed camera.

Currently, these cameras are only employed to capture drivers who are speeding or jumping a red light.

Of the 1,500 radars tourelles installed, only 1,000 will actually be in operation, with the others acting as traps.

These cameras are installed at the top of poles, and look like a small blank screen positioned above a bigger screen below, while radars urbains are white boxes with a camera contained inside.

France’s Court of Audit (Cour des comptes) estimates that speed camera fines will bring in €0.5billion in 2023.

Related articles

Speed cameras, tunnel signs: Five updates for drivers in France

Sign replacement, new devices: Speed camera news for drivers in France