Speed camera fault means thousands of drivers across UK wrongly fined as apology issued
A 'technical issue' means that thousands of drivers will be reimbursed and have points removed as speed cameras were wrongly detecting speeding after the speed limit had increased
23:58, 15 Dec 2025Updated 00:31, 16 Dec 2025
View 2 ImagesA 'technical issue' means that thousands of speeding fines could be cancelled(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
A 'technical issue' means that thousands of speeding fines could be cancelled. For four years the glitch has meant that some speed cameras were triggered incorrectly.
National Highways[1] has apologised for the fault which, it said, meant a "very small number" of drivers had been fined incorrectly since 2021. It is believed a software update created a problem with variable speed cameras[2] on some A roads and motorways that meant drivers were being incorrectly detected as speeding after the speed limit had increased.
Chief executive of National Highways 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."
Around 2,650 incorrect camera activations[3] had been identified since 2021, less than two per day.
As camera activations are not always enforced, not all of those will have led to fines and the total equates to less than 0.1 per cent of the six million activations in the same period.
The problem affected 10 per cent of motorways and A roads in England, and National Highways is working to fix the error as soon as possible. Police will be contacting anyone who was wrongly fined and points will also be removed from their licence.
View 2 ImagesA problem with variable speed cameras on some A roads and motorways that meant drivers were being incorrectly detected as speeding after the speed limit had increased(Image: John Keeble, Getty Images)
No fines will be issued from variable cameras until the police force are confident that nobody will be wrongly prosecuted. However, speed limits will be enforced in other ways.
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.
Article continues below"Enforcement is still in place, and the public can remain confident that only motorists who break the rules will be penalised." A spokesperson for the National Police Chiefs' Council said police forces were working to identify and contact "a very limited number of motorists".
They added: "Policing enforces a range of offences, including speeding, on the strategic road network through a number of tactics including mobile camera deployments, roads policing patrols and average speed sites.
This remains unchanged.
"If you are affected by this issue, you will be contacted and details of the compensation scheme will be shared in due course.
You do not need to take any action."
References
- ^ National Highways (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ speed cameras (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ camera activations (www.mirror.co.uk)