Italy is the third country in the world in the number of speed cameras installed. According to the SCDB.info (Speed Camera DataBase), there are 11.303 devices, second only to Russia and Brazil, which have, respectively, 18.425 and 18.091 radars.
Number of speed cameras in Italy
The 11.303 speed cameras in Italy are more than all the speed cameras in the United States. Recently, a decree from the Ministry of Infrastructure, led by Matteo Salvini, and published in Official Gazette, determined that radars cannot be installed in areas with a speed limit of less than 50 km/h.
In other cases, they will not be allowed if the limit is more than 20 km/h lower than the ordinary limit for that type of section. For example, on roads where the limit is 90 km/h, radars cannot be installed in segments with a limit of 60 km/h, only in sections between 70 and 90 km/h. Outside urban areas, speed cameras in Italy must be marked at least one kilometer in advance.
The new rules aim to return radars to their original role of ensuring safety, and not of serving as a source of revenue for municipalities with financial problems.
Worldwide distribution of radars
There are a total of 113.831 radars in the world, 66.400 of which are in Europe. Russia, included in European data, has 18.425 radars, followed by Italy with 11.303, representing 9,93% of all radars in the world.
To give you an idea, the United Kingdom has 7.835 speed cameras, Germany 4.720, and France 3.850, all with populations and road networks larger than Italy. Germany has 830 km of roads and France 1,053 million km, compared to Italy's 487.700 km.
Russia, with 1,3 million km of roads and a much larger population, also has more radars.
Less populous but larger countries, such as Spain and Sweden, have 2.494 and 2.296 radars, respectively. Spain has 683.175 km of roads and Sweden 573.134 km.
Comparison with the United States
In the United States, with 341,6 million inhabitants and a road network of 6.586.610 km, there are only 8.190 speed cameras, 27,5% fewer than in Italy.
Radars in Asia
In Asia, there are 13.776 radars, just 2.474 more than in Italy. These numbers do not include complete data from China and India. In Japan, there are 187 radars.
Brazil
Brazil is the only country outside Europe that surpasses Italy in the number of speed cameras, with 18.091 dispositivos for 217,5 million people and two million kilometers of roads.
Radars and telecameras in Italy
In Italy there are different types of radar. There are 638 tutor-type devices, which measure the average speed on a stretch, and 8.102 speed cameras.
In the United States, there are 4.048 speed cameras and 3.974 traffic lights with radars.
The Italian approach appears to focus more on fining inattentive drivers than on preventing infractions. (Photo: Depositphotos)
