Promised by the end of this year, the medium speed cameras are already being tested on Portuguese roads, more precisely on the Vasco da Gama Bridge.
The confirmation was made by the National Road Safety Authority (ANSR), which declared to the Observer: “These are tests of medium speed control equipment, which take place within the competence of the National Road Safety Authority, to approve equipment control and inspection of transit”.
According to ANSR, the locations that should receive these average speed cameras are already “previously selected”, however this list is provisional and may be subject to changes.
However, one thing seems to be certain: if these radars are approved, one of these devices must be installed on the Vasco da Gama Bridge.
What do we already know about these radars?
Tests for this new type of radar (already very common in Spain) follow on from the approval of the reinforcement of the SINCRO (National Speed Control System) network last year.
At that time, 50 new Speed Control Locations (LCV) were announced, with ANSR indicating that 30 new radars would be acquired, 10 of them capable of calculating the average speed between two points.
A few months ago, in statements to Jornal de Notícias, Rui Ribeiro, president of ANSR, stated that the first medium speed radars will come into operation at the end of 2021.
However, the location of the 10 average speed control radars will not be fixed, alternating between 20 possible locations. In this way, the driver will never know which cabs will have a radar, but regardless of whether the cab has the radar installed or not, the driver will be alerted in advance by the H42 traffic sign.
Even so, although the locations are not fixed, ANSR has already disclosed some of the places where these radars will be present:
- EN5 in Palmela
- EN10 in Vila Franca de Xira
- EN101 in Vila Verde
- EN106 in Penafiel
- EN109 in Bom Sucesso
- IC19 in Sintra
- IC8 in Sertã
How do these radars work?
When encountering the H42 sign, the driver knows that the radar will record the entry time on that section of road and will also record the exit time a few kilometers ahead.
If the driver has covered the distance between these two points in a time below the minimum stipulated to comply with the speed limit on that route, he is considered to have driven at excessive speed. The driver will thus be fined, with the fine to be received at home.
Source: Observer.