New Smart Speed Traffic Lights

Smart speed traffic lights to be trialled in England

A clever new scheme which combines speed cameras and traffic lights is to be trialled in England later this year.

The innovative new traffic lights which turn red if approaching drivers are speeding have been designed to stop drivers travelling well above the speed limit and have already proved successful in a number of other European countries.

The lights operate by placing a sensor in the road a few metres ahead of the traffic lights - these sensors then check the speed of an approaching vehicle and signal the light to turn red if the driver is driving above the speed limit. The sensors also have automatic vehicle registration cameras to allow emergency vehicles to pass through unaffected.

Swindon council, which ironically was the first local authority to strip out its existing speed cameras, will begin the trial in two different areas in Autumn. It's not yet been confirmed what the speed threshold will be but it's likely to fall in with speed camera guidelines.

“I have been talking about this with my team for about two years. I have seen it in Spain and France and it seems to work really well and couldn’t see why we were not doing it in the UK. It is an intelligent way of managing traffic flows and ensuring that cars drive in a safe manner,” commented the council cabinet member responsible for planning and transport Peter Greenhalgh.

While the RAC initially gave the trial a warm reception, they did confirm that they have some doubts regarding the effectiveness of the new scheme.

'We welcome trials of technologies other than cameras to deter speeding drivers and this sort of system is already extensively used in Spain and Portugal. But will the odd red light be enough of a deterrent to change the behaviour of persistent offenders? Some law-abiding motorists will surely be irritated at being stuck at the signals behind an errant driver, effectively paying the price for someone else’s law breaking,' said director of the RAC Foundation Stephen Glaister.