Sometimes it’s difficult to tell when and if a speed camera is really active: here’s how to find out if the watchful eye is ready to detect the speed
The fixed speed cameras they are the bogeyman of motorists since they sometimes leave us in doubt as to whether they are actually active or not. It is not a wrong “belief”, but in many streets it is customary to exploit the empty columns in order to create a sort of bollard to prevent passing cars from doing it too quickly.
In particular are the so-called “orange” speed cameras to never give us a certainty that the equipment has been installed inside or that it is instead a huge empty shell that still forces motorists to slow down.
Orange speed cameras are also known as Velo OK or Speed Checkalthough different types can be distinguished. We can find speed cameras that have a flashing light on the top, those with a rectangular shape, a more rounded shape or of different heights.
Typically these speed cameras are just “empty boxes” designed to dissuade motorists, but this is not always the case. Sometimes they can be active: let’s find out in which case.
Orange speed cameras: are they real or fake?
The law explains that this kind of speed camera can only be active in one case only: that there is one police patrol nearby who has suitably mounted the equipment inside the totem or in any case inside the structure for detecting the speed.
In addition to the patrol there must also be a notice that reads precisely “Attention! Electronic speed control” within the 4 kilometers preceding the arrival at the detector. A speech that generally applies to any type of speed camera.
One thing must be said: in 2018, the Ministry of Transport had declared this type of system illegal. In theory, therefore, the municipalities have been forced to remove the possibility of using speed detection devices inside the orange speed cameras.
This generally means these totems are “fake” or in any case they do not house any equipment intended to detect the speed of passing cars. The only possible case in which they can be used concerns the one mentioned: the presence of a patrol that installs a sort of mobile speed camera within the same totem, signaling it specifically as indicated.
One last important clarification must be made: aware of their irregularity, some municipalities have decided to buy dozens of these totems exactly as they can be installed, i.e. empty, complete with a flashing light on top. The goal is to deter passing motorists, sometimes even with fake camera images.
