Thousands of speeding fines could be cancelled after a “technical issue” triggered some speed cameras in England to incorrectly penalise motorists.
National Highways has apologised for the error, which meant a “very small number” of drivers had been wrongly fined since 2021.
A software update is thought to have created a problem with variable speed cameras on some A-roads and motorways, meaning drivers were incorrectly detected as speeding after the limit had increased.
The minimum penalty for speeding is a £100 fine and three penalty points.
The National Highways chief executive, Nick Harris, said: “Safety is our number one priority and we have developed a fix for this technical anomaly to maintain the highest levels of safety on these roads and make sure no one is wrongly prosecuted.”
National Highways said it had identified about 2,650 incorrect camera activations since 2021, less than two a day, and amounting to less than 0.1% of the 6m activations in the same period.
The issue affected 10% of motorways and A-roads in England, and the agency is working to implement a solution to the problem as soon as possible.
Anyone who has been incorrectly fined will be contacted directly by the police, with fines reimbursed and any points removed from their licence.
Police forces have temporarily stopped issuing fines from variable cameras until they have confidence nobody will be wrongly prosecuted.
A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: “We apologise to anyone who has been affected. Safety was never compromised, and we are working with policing to ensure nobody is incorrectly prosecuted in future.
“Enforcement is still in place, and the public can remain confident that only motorists who break the rules will be penalised.”
A spokesperson for the National Police Chiefs’ Council said police forces were working to identify and contact “a very limited number of motorists”.
They added: “Policing enforces a range of offences, including speeding, on the strategic road network through a number of tactics including mobile camera deployments, roads policing patrols and average speed sites.
“This remains unchanged. If you are affected by this issue, you will be contacted and details of the compensation scheme will be shared in due course.”
