Flemish speed cameras still not working

Flemish speed cameras still not working


22 March 2006

BRUSSELS — Some 129 of the 154 permanent speed cameras placed along Flemish roads and 107 of the 397 cameras at Flemish road junctions are not currently working, Public Works Minister Kris Peeters has said.

The revelations are the latest element in a series of problems encountered by the regional government over its speed cameras in the past two years.

It was revealed at the start of 2004 that due to technical problems with radar cameras, possible incorrect speeds were being recorded by unmanned cameras next to regional roads.

The cameras were then inspected by public authorities and many installations were switched off, newspaper 'De Standaard' reported on
Wednesday.

Authorities are now working on a new measuring system, but the process of switching all of the speed cameras back on is taking an exceptionally long time.

The speed cameras at road junctions have not been sanctioned by Belgian authorities since July 2004. A year later, a laboratory in the Netherlands was declared able to calibrate the cameras.

The Flemish government invested EUR 23 million in its speed cameras.

[Copyright Expatica News 2006]