France is planning to triple the numbers of speed cameras along the road to 1,200 by next year, and it's planning to use them to keep track of much more than speed.
The new cameras can also track sudden swerving, tailgating, jumping lights, phone use or driving without a seatbelt. All those violations could result in tickets being issued by mail. At first, though, they will be used only for speed.
Not everyone in France is in favor of the move, which is expected to bring in enough money in fines to pay for the systems. Since the 'yellow vest' protests began last year, the speed cameras have been frequent targets, with three quarters of the cameras being vandalized.
But authorities think they have that issue licked. The new cameras are mounted on 4-metre-tall polls, making them harder to vandalize—and they take pictures of anyone climbing up to the camera. They are also 'hardened' against brute force attacks.
Each of the 1,200 cameras will be paired with four decoy cameras. The decoys and real cameras will be swapped around regularly to keep people from finding the decoys.
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