Speed camera error sees thousands of drivers wrongly fined – how to check and claim
Thousands of drivers could have their driving fines canceled or revoked after a speed camera malfunction caused some devices to falsely trigger.
National Highways said it had identified nearly 2,650 cases where a camera was accidentally activated due to a “technical issue”.
It is understood that a software update has caused problems with variable speed cameras on some A-roads and motorways, resulting in drivers being incorrectly detected as speeding after the speed limit has increased.
The problem has affected 10 per cent of motorways and A roads in England. National Highways said it was working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
National Highways chief executive Nick Harris said: “Safety is our number one priority and we have developed a solution to address this technical anomaly to keep safety on these roads at the highest level and ensure no one is unfairly prosecuted.”
The motoring body added that not all incidents will result in fines as camera activations are not always enforced and the total amount is less than 0.1 per cent of the 6 million activations in the same period.
National Highways confirmed it had paused sending data from variable cameras to police forces while it dealt with the issue.
Speed camera malfunction – how to check and request
Because the speed camera malfunction affects devices on certain A-roads and motorways, only drivers who receive speeding tickets based on camera evidence on such roads may be affected.
The bug revealed that variable speed cameras were incorrectly interacting with signs on some of these roads. This meant there was a delay of around ten seconds between the cameras and the associated variable speed signs; This meant that some drivers were mistakenly flagged as speeding even though they were within the increased limit.
This may give drivers who have been fined in recent years a clue as to whether the penalty was erroneous.
However, motorists have been informed that anyone affected by the speed camera fault will be contacted by the “relevant police force”.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said a “limited number of drivers” who were wrongly fined would be contacted directly by police, with fines refunded and points removed from their licences.
The agency added that there was no need for them to take any action and that they would be contacted about a “compensation plan” in due course.
The NPCC added: “Police are enforcing a range of offenses, including speeding, on the strategic road network through a range of tactics including mobile camera deployments, road police patrols and average speed zones. This remains unchanged.”
A Department for Transport spokesman said: “We apologize to everyone affected. Safety has never been compromised and we are working with the police to ensure no one is unfairly prosecuted in the future.
“Sanctions are still in force and the public can be assured that only drivers who break the rules will be punished.”
