'See all' camera on its way

Mega-Gatso will grab digital stills and colour movies

Gatso MCS

The "daddy" of all speed cameras could be on its way to the UK, according to Auto Express.

The "see all" camera is fitted with three digital stills cameras plus a video capture system. This enables the camera to patrol up to four separate lanes of traffic at a time and have moving film as back-up evidence. Current fixed speed camera systems are only able to monitor part of a wide carriageway, so speeders in certain lanes can go unnoticed.

But this will not be the case with the new Multi-Camera System (MCS), which can also be used to police traffic lights and box junctions. And there will be no dispute as to who was behind the wheel either, as the device has an infrared as well as normal flash and can be mounted forward-facing to take pictures of drivers' faces.

The MCS is made by Dutch firm Gatsometer, maker of the ubiquitous Gatso.

The new machine can hold up to 60,000 images of speeders on its encrypted hard-drive while the photos can be downloaded at any time via a telecommunication link. This, plus the fact that it comes with defence spikes to deter vandals, means the MCS is almost maintenance-free - something which will appeal to UK safety camera partnerships.

Auto Express said it had spoken to the Serco company, Gatsometer's UK distributor, and a spokesman had agreed the MCS was "the daddy of speed cameras".

The Serco spokesman went on: "It's not available in the UK at the moment but it may well be something we will bring in the future. It's up to the local camera partnerships to decide if they want them. If they do it could be here within 12 to 18 months."

Auto Express editor-in-chief David Johns said: "This news will send shivers down the spine of every motorist. You can bet it's only a matter of time before it arrives over here and starts trapping UK drivers.

"Cash-greedy safety camera partnerships will find the hi-tech, low-maintenance device a pretty attractive proposition and something they can't ignore."