Drivers who are in a hurry will no longer be able to just slow down when they see a speed camera to avoid getting a ticket.
The province of Alicante is preparing to install its first average speed cameras. These cameras will keep an eye on the average speed between two sites and issue a fine if it goes over the limit.
The Spanish Directorate General of Traffic (DGT) is putting the finishing touches on the first speed cameras of this kind, which the province has not had until now. The DGT said last September that six will be working by 2026. Three of them are average speed cameras.
The civil engineering work is done, and the platforms for the speed cameras are in place. Some of them are already there, which worries some drivers.
The Provincial Traffic Headquarters of Alicante said last month that all of the speed cameras will be put up in the next few weeks, checked to make sure they work, certified, and given signs so that they can be used between the end of the year and the first quarter of 2026.
One of them is on the A-7 near Elche, going towards Alicante. There are two more on the A-31, one going towards Elda and the other going towards Monforte del Cid. Some of the newer speed cameras on the Madrid highway are now in place, but the DGT website says they aren’t working yet.
Areas with a lot of traffic
So, these three radars are in two places with a lot of traffic, and they want to make the roads safer by slowing down.
The new devices on the A-7 that connect Alicante and Murcia are between the Elche Sur and Crevillent exits, between kilometre positions 523.360 and 519.200, in the direction of Alicante.
The A-31 has the other two average speed cameras. One is in the direction of Alicante, between the Novelda exit and the Monforte del Cid exit, between kilometre marks 216.550 and 218.900. The other one is going towards Madrid, between Novelda and Elda-Petrer, between the 211.700 and 203.005 kilometre signs.
The average speed cameras that were promised but never put up on the A-70 and A-31
There have been a number of announcements over the past 15 years about the use of average speed cameras in the province of Alicante, but none of them have come true. It looks like these devices will ultimately be turned on in 2026 on the A-7 and A-31 motorways.
In 2011, it was said that average speed cameras would be put in the Sant Joan tunnel on the A-70 ring road around Alicante. This never happened, though. There are four booths, one at each exit and entrance and in each direction, but they have never worked as average speed cameras.
Also, there are just two speed cameras, and in the last several years, they have been moved between the four camera positions. Before that, they had been permanently placed at the entrances for a long period. Many drivers are startled by this, and it has resulted to a lot more fines being given out.
In 2015, it was also reported that the first average speed camera system would be installed in the Valencian Community. It will be on the A-31 motorway as it passes through Villena. The intention was to build a roughly three-kilometer stretch of the Madrid freeway between the prison and the border with Albacete, at La Encina. However, for reasons that are not clear, the project was abandoned.
The last segment, between Novelda and Elda-Petrer, will be the longest of the monitored parts in the province, with almost 8.5 kilometres where speed will be measured. There is also a 2.35-kilometre part on the A-31 and a 4.16-kilometre section on the A-7 between Elche and Crevillent.
Three other normal devices
The DGT (Spanish Directorate General of Traffic) is also finishing up the installation of three regular speed cameras, in addition to these three average speed cameras. One is on the N-340 as it goes through Elche, at kilometre marker 725.060, between the city centre and the business park, heading towards Alicante. Another is on the CV-70 between Benidorm and La Nucia, at kilometre marker 44.950. A third is on the CV-920 in Rojales, at kilometre marker 16.600.
So, the speed cameras are almost set up, but they still need to be configured, tested, and put into use. So, the DGT (Spanish Directorate General of Traffic) has said that if all goes well, they should be up and running between the end of this year and the beginning of next year.
The Spanish Metrology Centre (CEM) must set up and certify the radars before they can be used, and the DGT will report on this.
It’s not about punishing drivers; it’s about stopping them and making them more aware of their duty behind the wheel.
Juan Antonio Nieves, the Deputy Government Delegate, said, “The use of speed cameras, whether fixed, mobile, or section control, to strengthen traffic control and surveillance is an effective and necessary tool for continuing to improve road safety.”
He said, “The data shows that driving too fast or in an unsafe way is still one of the main causes of fatal accidents. This is why the Government is so committed to policies that prevent and control these types of accidents.”
“Every radar put in place and every inspection done has a clear goal: to save lives. Nieves reminded everyone that it’s not about giving out tickets, but about stopping accidents and making drivers more aware of their responsibilities behind the wheel.
He went on to say, “The Spanish government will keep spending money on road safety, modernising control systems, and teaching people how to drive safely. This is not only an administrative goal, but also a moral duty for all citizens.”
In 2025, there will be four new radars
In early 2025, the DGT set up four more radars in the province of Alicante. All of them were regular ones and were placed on the N-332 at Santa Pola (kilometre point 89), the CV-96 at Elche (kilometre point 13.8), the CV-905 at Torrevieja (kilometre point 7), and the A-77a in San Vicente del Raspeig (kilometre point 0.4).
Controls that are more precise
Also, since last summer, the DGT’s speed cameras have reduced margins of error, which means they “trigger” faster. The 5 and 7 rules used to be in effect. The first case had a 5 km/h buffer for roads with speed restrictions up to 100 km/h and a 7 km/h margin for roads with speed limits beyond 100 km/h. This was true for cameras that stayed in one place.
And the same goes for cell phones, except this time with the 7. In the city, it goes up to 57 km/h, but on the highway, it goes up to 7% of 120. That is 128 km/h.
But for months now, the limits have been decreased since the newest generation of speed cameras are more accurate. This means that speeding violations happen at lower speeds. And more and more people are breaking the rules.
The rule of three becomes the rule of five. This means that on roads with a speed limit of 30 km/h, the speed camera will go off at 33 km/h, and on roads with a speed limit of 50 km/h, it will go off at 53 km/h. For mobile cameras, the rule of 5 means that they will go off at 55 km/h or 5% of 120 km/h on highways and motorways.
Author: Derek Appleton
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