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Speed cameras, whether mobile or permanently installed, are used throughout Germany, with a total of 6,200 cameras regularly located in cities.

This includes 4,756 fixed cameras, 937 mobile devices, and 479 trailers. While the motivation behind this is somewhat controversial, one aspect is certainly the desire to prevent traffic accidents. The key factor in the assessment is simply where the speed cameras are located. Are they in an accident blackspot, or have they been placed arbitrarily? According to statistics from the Federal Office, around a third of all traffic accidents are caused by excessive speed.

Hamburg is renowned for its efforts in this area and has even received an award for it: the 'golden speed camera'. The Hanseatic city recently earned 47 million euros from the photos alone. Berlin and Karlsruhe are not far behind, but still some way off. Here, too, the revenues are in the eight-figure range.

However, when revenue is distributed among registered vehicles, Karlsruhe overtakes Hamburg to take first place. Karlsruhe tops the list with 91.98 euros per car. The average amount collected per vehicle is around 35 euros. This is partly due to the fact that Karlsruhe has the highest density of speed cameras at 2.62 per 10,000 vehicles, whereas Essen in the Ruhr area has only 0.2 per 10,000 vehicles.

Looking beyond the borders

Glancing across national borders reveals that Russia, Great Britain and Italy are the pioneers in this field. Russia has by far the most speed cameras, but it is also almost 50 times larger. In total, Russia uses around 18,000 speed cameras, meaning it also has significantly higher revenues. Switzerland ranks last in the statistics with only around 600 speed cameras. However, it should be noted that the situation across Europe is not entirely comparable. In Germany, all fines are the same. In Norway, on the other hand, fines are around ten times higher. With 114,000 speed cameras located virtually on every corner, drivers here are likely to be more careful about sticking to the speed limit. This is especially the case because speeding at 20 km/h over the limit will result in a fine of at least 7,250 Norwegian kroner. At the current exchange rate, this is equivalent to over 600 euros.

Source: Pixabay/speed-camera-5279648_1280