Just six months ago, the number of mobile speed trap vans in Denmark was quadrupled from 25 to 100. But now, the new government is looking to scrap many of them again.
The transport minister, Hans Christian Schmidt, contends that the number of speed trap vans should be significantly reduced and the government wants to instead focus on more fixed speed trap cameras.
“Fixed speed trap cameras have some obvious benefits,” Schmidt told DR Nyheder.
“The whole idea is that when you have fixed cameras, you don’t need to have manned speed trap vans. Then you can use the police officers in the vans for other tasks.”
“Traffic cameras can be put up permanently on dangerous roads. They had great success in Sweden doing just that.”
READ MORE: Traffic cameras effective at slowing down Danes
Committee to investigate
Schmidt went on to say that he would team up with the justice minister, Søren Pind, to set up a committee to figure out how many of the current 100 speed trap vans would be scrapped and how many fixed speed cameras would be established.
The committee’s recommendations will be ready by the end of this year.
In 2009, fixed speed cameras were set up on 10 roads in Zealand as part of a test and ended up reducing average speeds on those roads by 12 percent.
