National Highways has apologised for the error
Thousands of motorists throughout the UK have been wrongly penalised following a “technical issue” that caused certain speed cameras to activate in recent years – despite the vehicle in question not exceeding the speed limit.
National Highways has issued an apology for the blunder which, it confirmed, resulted in a “very small number” of drivers being fined through absolutely no fault of their own since 2021.
It’s believed a software upgrade generated a glitch with variable speed cameras on particular A roads and motorways that resulted in drivers being falsely identified as speeding after the speed limit had risen.
National Highways chief executive Nick Harris stated: “Safety is our number one priority and we have developed a fix for this technical anomaly to maintain the highest levels of safety on these roads and make sure no one is wrongly prosecuted.”
The organisation revealed it had pinpointed approximately 2,650 erroneous camera triggers since 2021, fewer than two daily, reports the Express.
Not all of these would have led to penalties as camera triggers aren’t always pursued, and the total represents less than 0.1% of the 6 million triggers during the same timeframe.
The problem impacted 10% of motorways and A roads in England, with National Highways working to roll out a remedy to the issue at the earliest opportunity.
Anyone who has been wrongly penalised will be approached directly by police, the organisation confirmed, with fines refunded and any points struck off their licence. Police forces have temporarily halted issuing fines from variable cameras until they can be certain that no one will be wrongfully prosecuted, but continue to enforce speed limits through other methods.
A spokesperson for the Department for Transport expressed regret: “We apologise to anyone who has been affected. Safety was never compromised, and we are working with policing to ensure nobody is incorrectly prosecuted in future.
“Enforcement is still in place, and the public can remain confident that only motorists who break the rules will be penalised.”
A representative for the National Police Chiefs’ Council stated that police forces were making efforts to identify and reach out to “a very limited number of motorists”.
They further added: “Policing enforces a range of offences, including speeding, on the strategic road network through a number of tactics including mobile camera deployments, roads policing patrols and average speed sites. This remains unchanged.
“If you are affected by this issue, you will be contacted and details of the compensation scheme will be shared in due course. You do not need to take any action.”
