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http://www.telegraph.co.uk ,
David Millward,
7th February 2007
Drivers face being confronted by a new generation of cat's eyes with built-in cameras capable of taking pictures of speeding motorists. Known as intelligent road studs, they have been earmarked by ministers as the latest weapon in an increasingly sophisticated armoury to be deployed on the roads.
Within weeks of trying to take the heat out of the speed camera controversy by announcing tighter rules on their deployment, the Government announced a sudden change of tack in a response to the all-party Transport Select Committee yesterday.
It said that one unidentified company had claimed to have developed a new generation of cats eyes "with the potential for use in speed enforcement".
The Home Office Scientific Development Branch has asked the firm to submit its design for approval.
The prospect of the devices appearing on Britain's roads alarmed Andrew Howard, head of road safety at AA Public Affairs.
"We would want them to be as conspicuous as other speed cameras," he said.
"Their minimal size suggests they will be hidden in order to trap people."
While the company is not identified in the report, one strong candidate is Astucia, whose UK offices are in Bicester, Oxon. Its latest camera stud, which is still undergoing tests, is almost flush with the carriageway.
The in-built camera is a fully functional "digital device" capable of producing pin sharp images of approaching and passing vehicles, including their number plates.
Not even bad weather hampers the devices, because they come with a computer controlled self-cleaning unit.
The Government's response to the committee indicates that it will step up its battle with speeding motorists, despite a decision that partnerships would no longer be funded by the money raised by camera fines.
•A second letter bomb exploded yesterday at a company linked to motoring charges, raising fears that a disgruntled motorist could be mounting a terror campaign.
The device, addressed to a speed camera firm in Wokeingham, Berks, went off 24 hours after an explosion at Capita Group, which runs the London congestion charge. Two men were injured.
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