A 7.5-mile section of road in east London, which is to be permanently monitored by average-speed cameras, is likely to earn the enviable reputation of being the only road in Britain on which speeding is not endemic.
Average-speed cameras work by capturing the details of a vehicle at numerous points and then calculating its average speed over that distance. They have been used for some time to reduce traffic speed at roadworks on motorways, but the 84 cameras on the A13 between Canning Town and the Goresbrook interchange will be the first time the technology has been used in an urban environment.
The use of average-speed cameras reduces the tendency of traffic to stop and start, thereby making the road more efficient. For this reason the speed limit will be raised from 40mph to 50mph on a section of the route once the cameras are in place.
A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “Average speed cameras are a far more efficient and effective way of calming traffic than conventional cameras. The benefits are likely to be safer roads with less congestion.”
20mph average speed cameras – flawed technology?
ETA comment: “My part of town is just about to get average speed cameras installed. Anyone driving through my neighbourhood will have to ensure that their speed is less than the stipulated 20mph because they will be clocked when they enter and clocked when they exit.”
“Sounds great. However, the people who drive the fastest in my neck of the woods are the delivery drivers. They come in at say 40mph. Stop for their delivery or collection and then wiz out again at 40mph. The average speed cameras will record them as going 5mph or less because of the period when they were stationary. It will not take them long to notice how easy it is to break the rules.” Andrew Davis, ETA director
0 Comments View now