Speed cameras: types, locations and how they work
Which speed cameras stand beside the road, how they measure and where official information is published.
Not every speed camera works the same way. A fixed camera measures speed at one point, a mobile unit moves between sites, an average speed system times a vehicle over a stretch, and gantry cameras on motorways enforce variable limits. The posts in this topic explain each kind from the pages of the police forces, road safety partnerships and government bodies that run or regulate them.
The questions that come back most often are where the cameras are, whether a van is always visible, what the white lines near a roadside camera do, how a new camera is introduced and what the law says about phones and map apps that show cameras. Rules and penalties come from government sources, quoted with the date they were read. Positions of mobile units on a given day are not listed here.
Start with the overview of the types of speed camera to see them side by side. If you want to know where official maps exist, read speed camera locations and maps. For the units that move, see mobile speed cameras. The rules for warning apps in other countries are in where speed camera warnings are allowed.
Gatso speed cameras: how the radar camera works and what the white lines are for
How a Gatso speed camera measures speed with radar, why it takes two photographs and what the white lines on the road are, from police and DfT sources.
Google Maps speed cameras: what Google says it reports and what it leaves out
What Google Maps lets drivers report about speed cameras, how reports reach others, what Google does not say and what UK law says about camera information.
Mobile speed cameras: how vans measure speed and what the rules say about them
How a mobile speed camera van measures speed, what it can record, how visible it must be under DfT guidance and where official locations are published.
Motorway speed cameras in England: variable limits, roadworks checks and HADECS
How motorway speed cameras work in England: variable speed limit cameras, average speed checks at roadworks and what the Highway Code says about the limits.
New speed cameras: how they are introduced, with examples from 2026
How a new speed camera is chosen, checked and switched on in the UK, with dated 2026 examples from Police Scotland and GoSafe in Wales.
Speed cameras in the UK: the four types, how they measure and what follows
The four kinds of speed camera in the UK, how each one measures speed, how visible it must be and what happens after it records you, from official sources.
Speed camera locations map: the official maps and what they leave out
Where to find official speed camera location maps in the UK, what Police Scotland and GoSafe in Wales show on theirs and what no map can tell you.
Are speed camera apps legal in Europe? The law country by country
Are speed camera apps legal? The law in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Türkiye and Switzerland, and how BlitzBuddy handles each country.
