A technical glitch with National Highways' cameras could lead to thousands of speeding convictions as far back as 2019 being overturned, as the government-owned company conducts an investigation. The Department for Transport (DfT) revealed that this is when an "upgrade" of variable speed limit cameras began.
The department had announced in December that action would be taken regarding 2,650 "erroneous camera activations" identified by National Highways. Transport minister Simon Lightwood stated at the time that he had instructed National Highways to continue its investigations back to 2019.
The fault meant there was a delay between cameras and electronic speed limit signs. This resulted in some drivers being detected as speeding when the limit had already been reduced.
Some 154 cameras deployed on 10% of England’s network of motorways and major A roads were affected. National Highways’ executive instructed the camera supplier to pause the transfer of variable speed data to police forces on October 17 last year to ensure “to ensure no further individuals were incorrectly prosecuted”, the DfT said.
The DfT assured last month that those affected would be "contacted directly by the relevant police force", leading to them being "reimbursed" and having "points removed from their licence where relevant". This issue led to the cancellation of speed awareness courses for tens of thousands of individuals by police forces.
Earlier this week, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander declared that Tracey Westall, a non-executive director of the DfT, will spearhead an independent review into the incident.
Transport minister Lord Hendy suggested on Wednesday that drivers wrongfully penalised for speeding might be eligible for compensation if they can demonstrate they incurred losses such as increased insurance premiums due to the error.
