After its approval for use in the UK in June of this year, a ‘new generation’ speed gun is being rolled out to police forces across the nation.
This newer, more efficient model is the successor to the original and widely used TruCam device and, although both share the same basic features – integrated lasers and technologies to measure the time and distance between vehicles – this newer model boasts an extensive upgrade.
Named the TruCam II, this device not only has a digital video camera to collect and store video evidence for speeding but also has been given an auto-adjust feature for the focus, iris and shutter speed.
Dubbed as the ‘next generation’ of enforcement devices, the TruCam II can accurately identify a vehicle, make and model, and read a number plate from up to 1,500 metres away (0.9) miles. Drivers, however, may be reassured to know that the device is calibrated to the 750-metre maximum distance limit set out by the government.
Laser Technology, Inc (LTI), the manufacturer of the TruCam II, has explained that while the device will be used predominantly for speed enforcement, it can also be used to catch tail-gaiting, distracted driving and even motorists who fail to wear a seatbelt.
It is the hope that this most advanced hand-held speed gun to date will make the process of punishing motorists less time-consuming for police and will aid in the endeavour to keep Britain’s roads safe.
With new technology installed, it eliminates the need for officers to stop motorists to issue fines by allowing any details captured to be uploaded directly to a database. This will then trigger the automatic issuing of penalty notices to the vehicle keeper’s address.
[Image: Source Shutterstock, December 2020]
UK police forces already making use of TruCam II
Police Speed Enforcement Departments across the UK have this week confirmed that they are part-taking in the trialling of these new gadgets, with police forces in Northumbria and Warwickshire among some of the first to test them out.
Superintendent Helena Barron, head of Northumbria Police Operations department, has hope that these new cameras will support the Northumbria Safe Roads Initiative. She states that ‘these cameras are another tactic at our disposal to tackle motorists who are unwilling to follow the rules.’ She believes that they will make a significant improvement to the safety of the region’s roads.
Northumbria Police have also trained dedicated traffic Specialist Constables to support this initiative and to ensure that the implementation of these new cameras has a beneficial impact on road safety.
These new cameras, however, come with a high price tag, currently costing an average around £10,000 each. This does not appear to be a deterrent though, with the Warwickshire police force announcing that they have spent £20, 000 of funding from the Road Safety Fund to acquire these new cameras.
In a statement this summer, the Warwickshire Police crime commissioner explained the reasoning behind their ramped-up efforts to deter drivers from speeding. He said ‘speeding makes it more difficult for a driver to maintain control of their vehicle and the police have my full support to enforce speed limits and take action against those who break the law as this will make Warwickshire’s roads safer for everyone.’
Inspector Jem Mountford went on to praise the TruCam II, explaining that ‘the new equipment is very portable, and this means officers can easily set up anti-speeding operations on hot spot routes identified by the force, with the added benefit that officers can be more mobile and responsive to changing demands.’
Their investment in the TruCam II comes after a concerning set of data collected from a two-week national speeding campaign conducted in May this year, where police in Warwickshire issued almost 3000 speeding tickets to irresponsible drivers. The highest speed recorded was 106 mph.
Inspector Kirsty Clough further commented, highlighting the severity of the situation with a harrowing set of recent statistics; ‘In Warwickshire, between 1st January 2017 and 31st December 2019, 92 people were killed and 669 seriously injured in collisions where speed or loss of control were recorded as a contributory factor.’
The rolling out of the TruCam II, Warwickshire Police believe, will help them to drive these numbers down.
Do you think this newest TruCam device will serve to improve the safety of our roads? Will you be more aware of your speed in light of the rolling out of these new speed guns?
Tell us in the comments.
Could we not advise the motorist at the first notification( if it is a miner speed offense, say 36 in a 30 area) etc.
It could frighten the driver to comply and if caught within a month for the same offense: prosecuted for both?
Nice idea, but it will never happen, in the vast majority of cases, speeding is about revenue, not safety. If someone with no criminal record walks in Tesco and steals a bottle of vodka, they will invariably receive a caution. In contrast, you might have an unblemished driving record stretching 50 years, but get caught doing 36 in a 30, you are banged to rights, no warning, no leeway, it’s £100 and three points, or if you’re lucky, a four hour speed awareness course.
But nicking a bottle of vodka isn’t going to put any lives at risk, unless the thief drinks it and drives of course. There are no excuses for doing 36 in a 30, especially if cars have adaptive cruise control or limiters. Even regular cruise control if the roads are relatively flat. 32 I’d say was sufficient leeway. However, if details sent automatically there will be none. If you are driving at 36 accidentally then I would suggest due care and attention isn’t being exercised. As cars generally drive slower than indicated, 36 is likely to be 40 on the Speedo.
However, revenue does play it’s part, I would agree..
If you have been driving for 50yrs surely you should know the law on speed limits .Stealing a bottle of vodka does not kill people but travelling 20% above the limit could do
It won’t do anything to aid road safety, but it will generate lots and lots of income for the Government, which is predominantly, its main intention.
Exactly! Some of the most dangerous drivers on the roads are the ones that drive slowly and take ages pulling out of junctions creating a danger to everyone around them.
It is all about having the experience to handle every situation that makes good drivers
This is excellent news, hopefully they can catch more of those idiots that like to speed and there are lots of them.
Speed isn’t the problem. It’s drivers who can’t handle the vehicle they’re in. People driving too slowly is very dangerous on motorways.
Speeding shouldn’t be classified as an offence in any areas where the speed limit in force is above 50mph, unless it is being exceeded by more than 20mph on a single carriageway. Dual carriageway with 2 or more lanes 30 mph.
Reducing speed limits everywhere is not a solution to cutting accidents. Example is national speed limit roads being reduced to 40 mph for what reason? Cash flow or safety, not exactly rocket science. There were less accidents when it was national speed limit.
Speed camera vans must be on the actual road they are targeting, no more sitting on motorway bridges. That’s sneaky and obviously using more than 750 meter rule. Trust the police in these situations? Not a chance they make stuff up and because they’re the police the magistrates believe them.
P.S clean licence thanks.
Dash cam that records your speed is very useful but journies need to be saved, or at least the areas where cameras were or are.
I’m sure these will mainly be used on motorways; some of our safest roads; where sight lines are very long, whilst most accidents occur in areas with a 30 or 40 mph limit. It’s in towns and villages where motorists deserve to be hounded, not motorways.
Where some idiots get so close to the car in front any sudden catastrophic failure in one vehicle will lead to a multiple pile up and possibly much loss of life. Most people do not drive safely on motorways, especially those with large powerful cars, but even small deathbtrap vehicles drive way too close.
Just remember it is the Police who have tell the family of the dead about what has happened after the accident.
If you think it is a tax well it is very optional. One by burning more highly taxed fuel, secondly by paying a speeding fine.
You will only arrive at you destination a few minutes later by observing the speed limits rather than the hours later being held up by a stupid driver crashing and the Police having to preserve a crime scene.
Remember to drive always as if your driving test examiner is in the passenger seat!
Do stay safe.
We already have among the very safest roads in the world. These funds and police time would be better spent on investigating burglaries and robberies for the public good rather than raising money for government boondoogles.
The UK does have one of the safest road systems in the World but this is down to our police forces and laws .Robberies etc very raely kill people . When a speederis stopped generally after pubs close guess what maybe fails the breath test and the sme applies during the day with drug users . Some irresposible speeders are uninsured but are stopped because of their speeding .So you reckon a burglarr is doing more harm than a speeding uninsured unlicenced drunk driver who may have also taken a substance
” collisions where speed or loss of control were recorded as a contributory factor.’ What absolute rubbish! The police would put this on every possible report, like doctors certifying covid deaths. Speeding fines are becoming a major revenue earner, and mendacious policemen are part of the industry.
No it wont help, yet again they fail to address the real issue, bad driving by using a money generating device to concentrate on the least dangerous aspect of driving not providing more officers to watch for the more dangerous drivers
Excellent! For too long treating speeding as a crime to be punished has been seen by politicians as a vote loser. Hence the hi-vis jackets and striped cameras. “Just a money making scam”, you cry. Absolutely! It helps to keep my taxes down, and if you don’t want to contribute to the exchequer in this way – don’t speed.
Donald yes all correct ,here in Northants we are about to get 100 new cameras both static and mobile .The mobile vans ,a road safety vehicle ,is so obvious you coud only miss it if you were speeding like wise the cameras have to be painted yellow by law to give people the chance to slow down .Me I would convert old builders trucks etc to have cameras and static speed cameras cameo painted
I’d rather see the police focus on lane discipline. So often a middle lane hog forces everyone else into the fast lane. It then only takes one fast lane hog to create a backlog and frustration, resulting in tailgating. Get rid of the hogs by enforcing lane discipline and the motorways would become a lot safer and free flowing. The focus on speed cameras is missing the elephant in the room.
Repair the road surface in the inside lane and I will use it.
No doubt GMP will be buying lots of these to bump up their convictions. Nice easy meat to target motorists, leaving the real crimes that take effort to police ignored. No wonder the Police have lost respect among the general public.
Yet another device to bring in revenue from easy targets. Its not about safety, its about revenue.
Surely any device that assists the Police to catch affenders benefit all law binding people so I am alll fot it
Excellent way to make money. At £100 per fine they can afford to buy half a dozen and still have some money left over to go on holiday in the Bahams!
The article makes an issue about the price of the gun. The expense will just be loaded on our Police Precept of the Council Tax, under statements like “road safety” and “we must have them”, so WE will be paying for them.
This speed camera at £10,000 each is more evidence that the police are happy to target motorists while other crimes that happen to people , burglary etc., are not being investigated – “80,000 crimes closed by Manchester Police without being investigated.”.
Speed is not always the problem poor driving abilities are a bigger issue. If the government was serious about speeding cars would all be chipped to prevent the car from exceeding the stated speed limit. I very easy solution with current technology. However poor driving skills are more difficult as most drivers think they are great and don’t believe the need better training. As a driver covering a regular 300 miles a day I have seen some really bad driving and occasionally when I have become frustrated by a bad driver I have made mistakes
Not too many accidents caused by loss of control when doing 34mph in a 30mph limit especially when the vans are there in hours when the kids are already in school. They aren’t there in school hours because the roads are so congested you can’t get past 20mph because of the kids being dropped at the school main entrance.
Speed cameras are just a revenue earner. They have little to do with road safety & no authority really cares about road safety either, they just play lip service to try & appeal to the masses. If they REALLY cared about road safety, people would not be able to still buy cheap budget tyres that perform so poorly in bad conditions & apart from basic size, load & speed ratings, no legislation requirements as to what tyres you can fit where. Have a look at just how many cars have different tyres fitted on each corner. And why are we still aloud to drive between November & March on summer tyres? This is the biggest area where road safety could be improved in the UK & this is becoming an ever increasing problem with the extra weight & performance of hybrid & in particular electric cars. What’s the biggest real issue here? 10% over a speed limit or a car that will no longer stop or handle as it was designed to do in an emergency situation because the owner made a pre-meditated decision to save a few quid & fit crap tyres.
AJD, As someone who works it the tyre supply industry I can tell you that you are talking rubbish, there are strict regulations as to the quality of tyres sold in this country, most cheaper and budget tyres are actually manufactured by the well known band manufacturers and as such are well made to the required specifications.
Catching speeders it’s all about money if the government cared that much about your health and safety they would ban smoking for one thing. I can drive round with stuff in the back of my car which comes from a burglary 2 kg of Coke over the drink and drug limit and the chances are I will never ever get caught but if I do 2 mile an hour over the speed limit I’m very likely to get caught. Just making a point about all the dodgy stuff I’m as honest as the day is long