Average speed cameras don’t just save lives

January 1, 2001

The UK company Jenoptik is celebrating the installation of its 250th SPECS average speed enforcement scheme – hailing the impact the technology has had both in terms of improving road safety and reducing emissions.

The technology was first used by Jenoptik , under its old name of Speed Check Services, in Nottingham in the year 2000.

The technology uses Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras to monitor the number plates of vehicles as they pass fixed points on the road. It then calculates the time taken compared with how long it should take if the vehicle was driving at the speed limit.  

Vehicles taking less time can therefore be shown to be going too fast.  

Independent analysis comparing collision data before and after installation of the technology on roads shows that fatal and serious collisions are reduced by 50%.

As reported by RoadSafety GB, the 250th installation of a Jenoptik SPECS scheme in the UK was made along the A39 in Cornwall .