New speed cameras to watch out for in South Africa
Transport minister Barbara Creecy has reiterated plans by the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) to install average speed over distance (ASOD) cameras on e-toll gantries.
Many South African motorists are familiar with fixed speed cameras and radar guns used by traffic officers to catch speedsters.
Traffic officers often position themselves in places where they would be difficult to spot for less observant motorists.
However, apps like Google Maps and Waze also allow users to report cameras and traffic officials, making it more difficult to catch speeding drivers unawares.
Fines from ASOD cameras are not as easy to avoid. These systems feature two fixed cameras installed at predetermined distances from one another, usually on poles suspended over the road.
The cameras capture the number plates of vehicles entering and exiting the ASOD zone. By recording the time travelled between the entry and exit points, the system can calculate a vehicle’s average speed.
If the speed was above the average speed possible while keeping to the relevant limits, the Road Traffic Management Corporation will issue a fine to the registered vehicle owner. m
To date, ASOD cameras have primarily been used on sections of the N1 between Pretoria and Polokwane, the N3 between Johannesburg and Durban, and certain roads in the Western Cape.
Responding to Parliamentary questions in April 2026, Creecy said the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) was working with the GPG on repurposing the gantries.
“SANRAL is working with the GPG to repurpose the e-toll gantries for law enforcement and road safety initiatives, such as measuring average vehicle speed,” the minister said.
The minister said the GPG was also looking to deploy high-speed weight-in-motion technology on the gantry network and use existing satellite infrastructure to provide motor vehicle licensing services.
With ASOD cameras, motorists must strictly adhere to the speed limit within the ASOD zone to avoid fines, or drastically reduce their speed some distance before the exit camera.
As 43 e-toll gantries are currently installed on major freeways in Gauteng, including the N1, N3, N12, and R21, the provincial government’s plans could see ASOD cameras installed on these routes as well.
Cape Town speed cameras go high-tech
The City of Cape Town has recently also expanded its speed limit enforcement with smart speed limit signs and cameras along several routes.
Smart speed limit signs display motorists’ speed and urge them to slow down if they exceed the limit. To test their effectiveness, the metro aims to install smart cameras roughly 100 metres past the signs.
Cape Town MMC for urban mobility, Roberto Quintas, proposed the rollout of smart cameras. He noted that the speed limit signs had helped reduce average speeds where they were installed.
“There are some along High Level Road as well as Ocean View Drive, and then also along the Main Road area in Green Point,” Quintas said.
“The data we have been able to see so far is that, in general, where deployed, the average distance over time speeding of motorists has decreased.”
Quintas added he would recommend to Cape Town MMC, for safety and security, JP Smith, that speed traps be installed a short distance after the signs.
“Just to see if people do accelerate after they’ve slowed down. We can catch them there,” Quintas explained.
The City of Cape Town also intends to roll out artificial intelligence-powered cameras to spot motorists using their phones or not wearing seatbelts while driving.
The metro has tested the system and issued fines to motorists. However, the fines were challenged and overturned.
South African law dictates that cameras used for enforcing road laws must meet strict technical requirements and be calibrated properly.
The metro is now seeking permission from the National Director of Public Prosecutions to implement the system permanently.
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