Speed cameras calibration issue finally settled

Almost a year after the first speed cameras were installed and some 17,400 fines down the line, the Malta Transport Authority seems to have accepted full responsibility for the general regulation of the devices and even reached an agreement with the Malta Standards Authority to oversee their proper calibration.

In August, the authority had publicly declared it had nothing to do with the regulation of speed cameras and referred any issues related to their calibration - a test which established that the devices detect speed correctly - to the Local Councils Association. The association, in turn, had acknowledged having calibration certificates in hand but it never accepted responsibility for the regulation of the cameras.

The issue boils down to whether the cameras are calibrated and whether there is proper certification to prove it. Both EU and local law stipulate that speed cameras have to be properly calibrated before being used; they also have to be checked on a regular basis. The situation with the regulation of speed cameras was so confused that Victor Bonello, a driver who was nabbed twice on the Regional Road for speeding, managed to successfully challenge both the tickets on grounds that the cameras were not properly calibrated.

The cameras were calibrated, in fact, but the tribunal was not apparently aware of this. Neither was it aware that the Local Council Association had a copy of the calibration certificates.

Since then, the transport authority (ADT) reached an agreement with the Malta Standards Authority (MSA) for the overseeing of all calibration certification of the cameras.

The MSA's Joseph Bartolo, an engineer by profession, told The Times yesterday there is now an agreement in place with the ADT whereby the authority checks that the cameras have been calibrated and that the calibration certificates are in line with EU and local law. The cameras imported so far come from Sweden and were calibrated by an independent accredited laboratory in Sweden.

As for the maintenance of the devices, another grey area up to a while ago, the ADT told The Times the agreement struck with the MSA also covers this. The cameras will be submitted to checks on a yearly basis.

Meanwhile, The Times finally managed to find out what the speed limit for the Mriehel bypass is. The ADT had initially said it would not divulge the speed limit at which the speed camera in Mriehel has been set, citing "security reasons", only to change its mind after further prodding and confirming that the cameras are in line with the national speed limit for the road: 80kph. The road leading up to the bypass proper, before the bridge, is set at 40kph as is the case in an urban area.