New so-called 'stealth' speed cameras: don't panic

REX

Speed cameras: rumours of their death have been greatly exaggerated. Two years ago we were reporting on the number of road safety partnerships switching off their speed cameras – now the Highways Agency has revealed a new system that will offer more cost-effective motorway monitoring.

Though officially called Hadsec3 – Highways Agency digital enforcement camera system – the mainstream national press has already dubbed the new speed cameras ‘stealth cameras’, on the basis that they are small and grey, rather than bright yellow.

The press – notably the Daily Mail – has also suggested that the cameras are part of a new plan to enforce the 70mph motorway. Having spoken to the Highways Agency, MSN Cars can officially confirm that they are no such thing. They are instead simply an upgrade to the existing ‘smart motorway’ system.

Instead of being hidden on a gantry, the new cameras will be mounted on a pole at the roadside

This much should be obvious from the name – Hadsec3 is a replacement for the current Hadsec2 programme. And although it is true that the new devices will be grey, this actually isn’t any different from most current motorway speed cameras.

What is different is where the cameras will be located, and this is actually good news for motorists.

We’ll get on to what exactly a ‘smart motorway’ is in a moment, but at the present time these are policed by Hadsec2 cameras mounted in motorway gantries, one for each lane. Usually grey, sometimes made less obvious by typical motorway signage, often you won’t spot them until you’ve passed underneath.

The Hadsec3 camera is different. Instead of being hidden away on a gantry, these will be mounted on their own pole at the side of the road – rather more like the average speed cameras deployed throughout sections of roadworks.

This, together with the usual speed camera warning signs, should actually make them more visible than the current arrangement. The new technology also makes it possible to use a single camera to police multiple lanes, making them more cost-effective.

The Highways Agency is planning to use Hadsec3 to upgrade existing sections of smart motorway, including areas on the M1, M6 and M25.

A smart motorway is one where a variable speed limit is enforced. Not in an effort to catch people out but in order to try to keep the traffic flowing, reducing jams and congestion. Sometimes it is quicker for everyone to travel at 50 or 60mph, rather than allowing everyone to go as fast as they want.

Police already have the power to use the existing camera network to enforce the 70mph limit

In fact, the Highways Agency says the new cameras are not really about speed limits at all but rather “smoothing traffic flow and increasing [motorway] capacity”.

The plan is to have the new cameras rolled out over 100 miles of motorway within the next two years; over time this would be extended to at least 400 miles.

While looking much more like SPECS average speed cameras than your stereotypical Gatso, the new Hadsec3 system will work in exactly the same way as the Hadsec2 system – which means they are ‘spot’ cameras, focused on a specific point, rather than tracking speed over a distance.

Some of the fuss in the national press is over the use of these new cameras to enforce the 70mph speed limit. However, there is nothing new here, either.

The police already have the power to use the existing smart motorway camera network to enforce the 70mph limit, as well as the lower smart limits. But according to the Highways Agency, it is up to individual forces to choose whether or not they do so.

The Hadsec3 will potentially make speed limit enforcement cheaper, though.

In an MSN Cars survey in January, over half of the respondents felt that the motorway speed limit should be raised to 80mph, and there has been concern about plans to reduce a large stretch of the M1 to 60mph during peak periods on a routine basis. A recent Autocar poll revealed that 94.6% drivers admitted to exceeding 70mph.

The Highways Agency rightly says the onus is on drivers to obey the speed limit at all times, but what do you think of the new ‘stealth’ camera system?

Nearly half of Britain’s speed cameras turned off
M25 speed cameras not switched on
60mph M1 motorway speed limit proposed
The great British motorway speed limit debate
MSN readers back 80mph limit on UK motorways
Police authorities turning a blind eye to lane hoggers
On Bing: see pictures of stealth speed cameras

By CJ Hubbard, contributor, MSN Cars