Official speed camera location maps exist, but they are published region by region, not as one UK map. Police Scotland Safety Cameras and GoSafe, the road casualty reduction partnership in Wales, both publish interactive maps that separate fixed, mobile, average speed and red-light sites. This guide explains what those two maps show, how to find the equivalent for England, and the things no map can tell you. It is written from the bodies' own pages, not from crowd-sourced lists.
The Police Scotland Safety Cameras map
The map is divided into the three Safety Camera Units, North, East and West, and then by local authority. The legend has six entries: Red Light, Dual Red Light, Mobile Camera, Fixed Speed, Average Speed and Site. Police Scotland explains that each enforcement location sits within a site or route, a stretch of road with a history of collisions where speed or red-light running is a problem, and that there may be several locations inside one site. The map also has a group for dormant cameras.
Two limits are stated on the site. Short term and flexible deployments, used for roads with emerging concerns or public events, are not on the map; they are listed on the page of the relevant unit. And when a driver asks for the exact location of an average speed offence, Police Scotland says it does not release the exact location of active average speed cameras, because that could prejudice the prevention and detection of crime. The site selection criteria, from the Scottish Safety Camera Programme Handbook, are the collision history, the speed profile, partner agreement, the enforcement strategy and an annual site review.
The GoSafe camera map in Wales
GoSafe's camera search map works by unitary authority, with a filter for the maximum speed from 20 to 70 mph. Its legend covers Fixed Camera, Mobile Camera, Red Light Camera, Average Speed Camera and Speed on Green. The page carries a plain warning: the absence of a camera on the map does not negate an offence.
GoSafe also publishes a monthly list of fixed cameras about to go live, each with location, camera type, speed limit and activation date. The guide to new speed cameras covers what happens in the first weeks.
Speed camera locations in England
Neither of the pages above covers England, and the pages read for this guide give no single national map. The DfT guidance on cameras for England and Wales (Circular 01/2007) recommends that road safety partnerships publicise the location of camera sites, the criteria for choosing them and how the cameras work. That makes the website of the local police force or road safety partnership the place to look. Motorways are different: National Highways says its camera signs mark the sections where speeds may be detected, and motorway speed cameras explains what the signs mean.
What a map cannot tell you
- Mobile units. A van or tripod can be anywhere that a force chooses. The mobile speed camera guide explains how they operate.
- Signs are not a condition. The Circular says signing and visibility guidance gives no defence if it is not followed, and that it does not restrict covert enforcement. GoSafe says a missing camera sign does not invalidate an offence.
- New and dormant cameras. A map is a snapshot. Police Scotland's map includes dormant cameras and a news page announces new ones, so an old copy goes out of date.
- The limit itself. The Highway Code shows a sign for an area in which cameras are used to enforce traffic regulations. The speed limit still has to be read from the road: GOV.UK gives 30 mph as the national limit on roads with street lights in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and 20 mph in Wales, unless signs show otherwise.
Are location maps and apps legal?
An Ask the Police answer, produced by the Police National Legal Database (PNLD) and published on the West Yorkshire Police website, says devices that only provide information about camera site locations are lawful in the UK. It adds that abroad even these may be unlawful, and that you need to check the law of the country you travel to. GOV.UK says it is illegal to hold and use a phone or sat nav while driving, while a dashboard holder or windscreen mount counts as hands-free. Where speed camera warnings are allowed compares the rules in six countries.
Crowd-sourced maps are a separate matter; see how Google Maps handles speed cameras.
BlitzBuddy and camera locations
BlitzBuddy has no speed camera warnings in the UK, Ireland or other countries outside the five where it warns; your speed, trips and reports from other drivers still work. Camera warnings switch on by themselves on arrival in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France or Türkiye. There, fixed cameras and average speed checks come from OpenStreetMap, Lufop.net and public government lists, and fixed cameras are stored on the phone, so they keep working without signal. In Germany, § 23 (1c) StVO forbids drivers to use a speed camera warner while driving; the warnings can be switched off under Profile, Warnings, and the driver is responsible. In France, article R413-15 of the Code de la route, in paragraph V, has since 5 January 2012 also banned devices that warn of or inform about the location of the equipment used to record traffic offences; using these warnings is the driver's own responsibility.
More guides on the same topic are collected under speed camera guides.
Sources
- Safety Camera Locations, Police Scotland Safety Cameras
- Questions and answers, Police Scotland Safety Cameras
- About, Police Scotland Safety Cameras
- Camera map, GoSafe
- News, GoSafe
- FAQs, GoSafe
- DfT Circular 01/2007: Use of speed and red-light cameras for traffic enforcement, Department for Transport (pdf)
- The Highway Code: Traffic signs, GOV.UK
- Variable speed limits, National Highways
- Is it illegal to have a speed camera detector in my car?, Ask the Police (Police National Legal Database), on the West Yorkshire Police website
- Using a phone, sat nav or other device when driving, GOV.UK
- Speed limits, GOV.UK
- Straßenverkehrs-Ordnung, § 23, Federal Ministry of Justice (in German)
- Code de la route, article R413-15, Légifrance (in French, version in force since 5 January 2012)
- Camera data in the countries where BlitzBuddy warns: © OpenStreetMap contributors
Sources read on 11 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is there one official map of every speed camera in the UK?
The maps this guide could read are published by individual bodies: Police Scotland Safety Cameras and GoSafe in Wales. DfT guidance recommends that road safety partnerships publicise camera sites, so in England the local force or partnership website is the place to start.
Are mobile speed camera locations on the maps?
Partly. Police Scotland's map has a Mobile Camera category, but short term and flexible deployments are not on the map and are listed on the safety camera unit pages. GoSafe's map filters by camera type, mobile included.
If a camera is not on the map, can I still be fined?
Yes. GoSafe states on its map page that the absence of a camera on the map does not negate an offence. Police Scotland also says it does not release the exact location of active average speed cameras.
Are speed camera location apps legal in the UK?
An Ask the Police answer by the Police National Legal Database, published on the West Yorkshire Police website, says devices that only provide information about camera site locations are lawful in the UK, and that abroad they may be unlawful. You still must not hold and use a phone while driving.
