Goodbye to speed cameras that pop up unexpectedly around a bend or on city streets where the speed limit is lower than 50 km/h . The electronic eyes must always be clearly visible, spaced apart and, in the case of mobile devices, the complaint must be immediate .
Here comes the crackdown with which the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Matteo Salvini turns the page on the use of car speed meters.
«No more cashing in on motorists» and no more savage fines: the detectors will be installed «only to prevent accidents», the deputy prime minister's watchword. Who also specified: "It is not possible that Italy has 10% of the speed cameras in the whole world."
The move, anticipated by Salvini himself last week in question time, arrives as promised with the publication today in the Official Journal of the interministerial decree on Infrastructure/Interior. The provision, which regulates the methods of placement and use of speed cameras, puts the protection of traffic safety first, explains the Porta Pia Department, placing certain rules on the positioning of the devices and sanctions.
Speed cameras will be "used safely where they are actually needed and not as an additional tax" is the rationale explained by Salvini : yes therefore "near a school, a kindergarten or a hospital", no to "trap devices without real safety needs".
THE RULES – According to the new provisions, the sections of road on which speed cameras can be used must be identified with a provision from the prefect. The presence of electronic devices must also be reported adequately in advance: at least 1 kilometer in advance outside residential areas, 200 meters on urban roads and 75 meters on other roads.
The minimum distance that must exist between one device and another is then established for the first time (progressive by type of road) in order to avoid its proliferation. The detectors cannot then be used where there is an excessively low speed limit: therefore they cannot be positioned below 50 kilometers per hour on urban streets; for extra-urban roads only if the speed limit imposed is not more than 20 km per hour lower than that foreseen for that type of road (if it is a 110 km/m road, the device can only be used if the limit at that point it is set at at least 90 kilometers per hour). Finally, the use of devices on board a moving vehicle is permitted only if there is an immediate complaint, otherwise fixed or mobile stations, duly visible, must be chosen.
The new rules will be in force immediately , but a transitional period of 12 months is still foreseen to allow the mayors to adapt the devices already installed .
However, the issue of approval remains to be resolved, which is not affected by the provision.
(Unioneonline/vl)