Thousands of motorists have been incorrectly penalised by faulty variable speed cameras on a major UK motorway, with authorities now forced to issue refunds and remove penalty points.
Technical Fault Leads to Wrongful Prosecutions
The issue centres on variable speed cameras operating on the M6 in the West Midlands. These cameras are activated when temporary speed limits, indicated by overhead digital signs, are imposed during heavy congestion or incidents.
However, a critical technical fault has been revealed: a delay between the cameras and the changing digital speed signs. This meant that when a limit increased—for example, from 40mph to 60mph—the cameras could remain active at the lower limit, wrongly recording drivers as speeding.
According to a BBC report, National Highways identified 2,650 wrongful speed camera activations across the country since 2021 due to this synchronization problem.
Refunds and Point Removals Underway
As a consequence of the fault, police forces have now halted the issuance of fines from these specific cameras until accuracy can be guaranteed. A temporary fix is in place to help police filter out erroneous captures.
Drivers who were wrongly fined will now be contacted by the relevant police forces. They will be reimbursed for any fines paid and have the associated penalty points removed from their licences. It is important to note that not all camera activations result in an enforced fine.
National Highways chief executive Nick Harris stated: "Safety is our number one priority. All drivers should continue observing the posted speed limits as normal. Anyone who has been impacted will be contacted by the relevant police force."
Ongoing Issues and Public Assurance
While this issue affects variable speed cameras, standard average speed cameras on the M6 continue to operate normally. Authorities have apologised but emphasised that road safety was not compromised.
A Department for Transport spokesperson 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."
The spokesperson added that enforcement remains in place for other offences, asserting that only motorists who genuinely break the rules will be penalised. However, it remains unclear when a permanent technical solution for the faulty variable cameras will be implemented.
