Speed camera error sees thousands of drivers wrongly fined – how to check and claim

Officials have said a compensation scheme will be set up

Thousands of drivers could have their driving fines cancelled or reversed after a speed camera fault caused some devices trigger incorrectly.

National Highways says it has identified approximately 2,650 cases where a camera has erroneously activated due to a “technical issue”.

It is understood that a software update created a problem with variable speed cameras on some A roads and motorways, which led to drivers being incorrectly detected as speeding after the limit had increased.

The issue affected 10 per cent of motorways and A roads in England. National Highways says it is working to implement a solution to the problem as soon as possible.

National Highways chief executive Nick Harris said: “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.”

Thousands of drivers could have their driving fines cancelled or reversed after a speed camera fault caused some devices to trigger incorrectly (PA Archive)

The motoring body adds that not all of those will have resulted in fines as camera activations are not always enforced, and the total amounts to less than 0.1 per cent of the 6 million activations in the same period.

National Highways confirms it has paused sending data from variable cameras to police forces while it deals with the problem.

Speed camera glitch – how to check and claim

As the speed camera fault affected devices on certain A roads and motorways, only drivers who received speeding fines based on camera evidence on these kinds of roads may be affected.

The error saw variable speed cameras interact incorrectly with signs on some of these roads. It meant there was a delay of around ten seconds between cameras and relevant variable speed signs, meaning some drivers were incorrectly flagged as speeding despite being within the increased limit.

This may give drivers who have received a fine in recent years a clue as to whether it was erroneous.

However, motorists have been advised that anyone impacted by the speed camera glitch will be contacted by the “relevant police force”.

Drivers have been advised that they do not need to take action (Alamy/PA)

The “limited number of motorists” who have been incorrectly fined will be contacted directly by the police, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said, with fines reimbursed and any points removed from their licence.

They do not need to take action and will be contacted about a “compensation scheme” in due course, the agency added.

The NPCC added: “Policing enforces a range of offences, including speeding, on the strategic road network through a number of tactics including mobile camera deployments, road policing patrols and average speed sites. This remains unchanged.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: “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.”