The last 5 years have seen the growth, demise and now growth again of the speed camera. From a time when motorists argued vehemently that speed cameras were merely a revenue raising exercise for police forces and councils up and down the country, to the current state where average speed cameras seem to be all the rage across the UK.

There has been a stretch of the M25 motorway from junction 7/8 that carries a 50mph average speed check camera warning. Do these cameras actually work? There is always a fair number of drivers who seem to wilfully ignore the warning of average speed check. Maybe they know something we don’t – that the cameras are not switched on?!

Look out though for the next wave of speed cameras to hit our motorways. Police forces up and down the country are looking to enforce the national speed limit with a new camera that requires no white markings on the road surface and is a grey box as opposed to the traditional bright yellow box.

Motorists can expect to see this new type of speed camera at some point this year (2014). Approval for use is set to be granted by March 2014. Codenamed Hadec3 (Highways Agency digital enforcement camera system) they can also be deployed to enforce variable speed limits such as those shown on the overhead gantries.

The widely accepted rule for prosecution by Police in the UK is if driver exceed the limit by 10% plus a 2mph margin for error. Thus if you are travelling at a speed of over 79mph on the motorway you are flying very close to the sun and running the risk of being prosecuted for speeding. By taken note of the outside lane on motorways in the UK – this is going to catch A LOT of drivers cruising at 85mph!

In fact, many road safety campaigners have argued for the speed limit to be more rigorously enforced, pointing out that many drivers routinely travel at speeds exceeding 80mph. A recent survey by Autocar magazine found that 94.6% of drivers admitted to breaking the current limit of 70mph.