The Directorate General of Traffic continues to innovate ways to prevent speeding on Spanish roads. Now the DGT has unveiled a radar in the Community of Madrid that, despite being visible to the naked eye, is designed so that you can never be sure exactly where it will be. The new trailer-mounted radar is installed on the A-1, at kilometer 45, on a stretch under construction that is traversed daily by thousands of drivers heading to or from the capital via the north. It is a speed camera mounted on a small trailer, with a striking color and unmistakable appearance, that combines the worst of both fixed and mobile units: it can issue citations like a permanent radar, but the Civil Guard or traffic officers can hook it up to a vehicle and move it in a matter of seconds.
The radar hasan internet connection to send citations in real time to traffic management centers and canissue up to 20 citations per minute—that is, one every three seconds—provided there are vehicles exceeding the speed limit at that rate.
Where it is located (and why it is causing so much concern)
The DGT’s first mobile radar unit in Madrid has been placed on theA-1, the Northern Freeway, which connects the capital with Burgos, Vitoria, and San Sebastián. More specifically, it is located on a stretch currently under construction where the speed limit is 100 km/h and where, furthermore, drivers are reminded that there may be workers on site, requiring extreme caution.
Until now, the DGT’s arsenal was divided into two very distinct categories: fixed speed cameras, mounted on gantries or in booths and clearly marked in advance, andmobile speed cameras, mounted on patrol cars or tripods that can be set up and taken down. This new trailer-mounted speed camera fallssomewhere in between the two.
This format, first developed and tested in Catalonia, addresses the fact that many drivers only ease off the accelerator where they know there is a speed camera and then accelerate again. The trailer-mounted radar is designed precisely for this scenario, as it canmonitor multiple lanes at onceand detect those who do not respect the specific speed limit in the construction zone.