Drivers on England’s motorways and A roads could see their speeding tickets wiped clean after a fault caused cameras to fire off incorrectly.
Thousands of False Speed Traps Identified
National Highways revealed it found a whopping 2,650 wrongful speed camera activations dating back to 2021. The error was caused by a delay between variable speed limit signs and the cameras, leading to incorrect speeding records.
Police will reach out to affected drivers, refunding any fines and removing penalty points where necessary. Thankfully, not every glitch resulted in a fine.
“Safety is our number one priority,” said National Highways chief executive Nick Harris, who issued an apology for the mishap.
How the Fault Happened
The snag, dubbed an “anomaly,” caused a 10-second lag between speed limit signs changing and cameras updating. So, if a speed limit jumped from 40mph to 60mph, cameras wrongly logged some drivers speeding for sticking to the new limit.
This problem hit 154 of the 400 variable speed cameras on England’s motorways, including smart motorways, parts of the A14, and the A1 near the A14.
Temporary Fix and Future Plans
A temporary workaround is now in place, helping police filter out these faulty captures. But National Highways hasn’t said when a permanent fix will roll out.
The agency stressed the faulty activations amount to fewer than two per day—tiny compared with the millions of correct camera triggers daily. Still, about 10% of England’s motorway and major A-road cameras were affected.
