New 'stealthy' speed cameras on the way
* Designed to blend into environment * Will target speeding lorries * Motoring groups question motive...
A new 'intelligent' speed camera will soon be making its way onto the UK's roads.
The new cameras nicknamed 'supertraps' don't flash, can cover multiple lanes, and have the ability to differentiate between lorries and cars.
Designed to blend into environment
Unlike the UK's familiar yellow cameras, the new devices will be styled to blend with other street furniture.
The first that many drivers would know about the camera's presence could be when they receive a fine through the post.
Cameras will catch speeding truckers
Speeding lorry drivers will also be targeted by the new 'supertrap' cameras, due to the device's ability to distinguish between trucks and cars. On many roads, lorries must adhere to lower speed limits, but convictions are difficult because current Gatso-type cameras do not differentiate between vehicles.
Motoring groups question motives behind the new device
The new speed camera has been met with criticism from motoring groups, which say that the stealth-like design of the device does more to catch speeding drivers than to slow them down.
A spokesman from the RAC said: 'Camera positioning should be based on evidence that they will save lives, not to help balance the books for politicians.'
The news comes after the Highways Agency revealed it is to spend 58 million on new digital cameras to monitor drivers using the hard shoulder on motorways.