National Highways Admits It Got Speeding Fines Wrong

If you’ve ever been convinced you weren’t speeding — only to get a flash on the motorway — you’re not alone. But for a small group of drivers on England’s major roads, it turns out that the road cameras themselves were part of the problem. National Highways has now confirmed that a technical glitch in some variable speed cameras has meant a number of drivers were wrongly caught and fined.

What Went Wrong?

On several smart motorways and A‑roads across England, variable speed limit signs and the cameras that enforce them weren’t updating in sync. In simple terms: the sign would change to a higher speed, but the camera system would still be enforcing the old limit for a few seconds. That timing mismatch (around 10 seconds in some cases) was enough to trigger the camera even though the driver was already within the new legal limit.

National Highways says it has identified about 2,650 of these erroneous speed camera activations going back to 2021. That might sound like a lot, but it’s fewer than two errors per day across the affected network — and out of more than 6 million total camera activations in that period.

What Happens Next?

Not everyone who got an erroneous camera trigger will have actually received a fine or penalty points — because not all activations lead to enforcement. But for those who did get fined or have points applied based on these faulty captures, National Highways says:

• Fines will be reimbursed
• Points will be removed where relevant
• Drivers will be contacted directly by the police about their specific case
• A compensation scheme is being set up to cover anyone affected

You don’t need to do anything right now — the police forces and National Highways will reach out if you’re impacted.

Why This Happened

The issue stems from how certain variable speed cameras communicate with motorway signs. These systems should update together so that the enforced limit always matches what you see on the sign. But a software update appears to have introduced a delay in that communication loop.

National Highways describes it as an “anomaly” in the interaction between the cameras and the signs — not a deliberate miscalculation — and it only affects a portion of the network (around 10% of motorways and major A‑roads).

A Fix Is Being Rolled Out

National Highways has already developed and started rolling out a fix to this problem. There’s also a new data check process so that the police can filter out any inaccurate camera captures going forward.

National Highways’ Chief Executive, Nick Harris, emphasised safety in his statement: “Safety is our number one priority.” He added that the fix is designed to keep enforcement accurate while maintaining high safety standards on the roads.

So What Should Drivers Do?

For now, the message hasn’t changed: stick to posted speed limits. These systems are still there to enforce the rules where needed, and most triggers are legitimate. The anomaly was a rare technical glitch, not a wholesale collapse of the enforcement regime.

If you think you might have been affected — and you haven’t heard from the police yet — wait for direct contact. Police forces are working through the list of identified cases and will get in touch about reimbursement and correction of any records.

December 2025