Coming to a City Near You

Coming to a City Near You? Wheelie Bin Speed Cameras

All drivers will tell you that speed cameras are the bane of their lives. They are sometimes hidden from view too, to catch offenders. But how about hiding them in wheelie bins?

A Belgian company have come up with an innovative camera that can be hidden in wheelie bins. But rather than just being there to catch people out, maybe it will be doing them a favour.

Earlier this week it was revealed that British drivers will face fines of up to £640 if they are caught speeding, after a change in EU law. Drivers will face fines of up to 150% of their weekly earnings if they are caught speeding from April 24^th.

What are they?

The cameras use infrared technology, and they don’t have a flash, so speeding motorists will be unaware that they have been captured. They don’t need to be operated by a person, and they can cover two-way traffic. Each image that the camera captures can be cloned, so the information about guilty drivers and their vehicles is readily available. The cameras cost approximately 50,000 EUR (£42,000) each, and they can also be stationed in cars or vans.

Where have they been introduced?

Belgium

Belgium has just introduced speed cameras hidden in wheelie bins to their roads. The city of Ghent was the first in Belgium to install the cameras. They located them symbolically at the scene of an accident, where 2 girls were hit by a speeding drunk driver.

Australia

Police will trial the wheelie bin cameras where it is unsafe to put a speed camera in a car. South Australia is implementing them first, as they have the worst road safety record of all of the states.

Switzerland

In Switzerland, speed cameras are painted to look like cows and cheese, so drivers really have no excuse if they try to say they did not spot them!

Germany

Germany has followed Belgium in implementing the cameras, and the Belgian company SecuRoad plans to sell the devices to other countries in Western Europe.