Motorists in East London now face a 7 mile speed check. After almost a year of intensive tests, the A13 SPECS average speed cameras have gone live in what is believed to be the UK’s longest non-motorway average speed check. From Barking to Canning Town, the A13 is now subject to the SPEC system which clocks vehicles entering any section of the road and then times them to any further point. The previous GATSO cameras have been taken out of service and the 40 mph speed limit has been raised to 50mph for the majority of the check. Efforts by motorists to confuse the cameras by changing lanes will be unsuccessful as the SPEC system is not lane specific.

It is generally anticipated that the check will be used by Transport for London as the template to monitor speed limits in numerous residential locations. With a growing number of 20 mph zones in the Capital, TFL has been experimenting with ways to enforce speed limits over wider areas. By successfully showing that a zone as long at the A13 can be managed by SPECS, it may now only be a matter of time before similar systems are used to police 20 mph urban zones, where further trials are already in place.

One company that looks set to capitalise on the A13 check is Stinger, a Netherlands based manufacturer of speed-trap detectors. Recently launched in the UK, the Stinger not only detects static and mobile cameras, but is particularly useful in SPECS zones as the dashboard-mounted screen advises the driver not only on average speed, but also how far into the zone they have travelled and how far they have left to complete.

There has always been some debate of the legality of such systems as radar detectors were initially believed to be illegal pursuant to the Wireless and Telegraphy Act 1949. However, following the 1999 decision that such devices were not used “to obtain information as to the contents, sender or addressee of any message” at present, they are legal and further proposals in the Road Safety Bill to outlaw detectors have not yet been formalised.