400 new multi-function speed cameras are to be installed on French roads in 2019. The system in question is the Mesta Fusion 2. Standing 4 metres tall, it will be capable of measuring vehicle speed, but also of issuing fines for other offences, such as not wearing a seatbelt or using a mobile phone whilst driving.
The ‘super’ speed camera is set to arrive this year. By the end of the year, a new multifunctional device, affectionately known as the Mesta Fusion 2, will be deployed on French roads to measure vehicle speeds. But that’s not all… Failure to wear a seatbelt, using a mobile phone whilst driving and other offences committed by motorists will also be detected by this ‘turret radar’, which promises to be drivers’ new bane and the latest formidable weapon in the fight for road safety in France.
Capable of scanning 8 channels
Featuring a wide-spectrum radar with a range of 200 metres and a 36-megapixel camera, the Mesta Fusion 2 promises to be a formidable opponent for motorists. Resembling a 4-metre-tall black-and-white turret, much like a mast, this new device is manufactured in France and will make speed checks a formidable prospect. The multifunction radar is capable of covering up to eight lanes of traffic simultaneously whilst measuring the speed of up to 36 vehicles, distinguishing between cars and heavy goods vehicles to apply the correct speed limit.
This is just the beginning, as the turret-mounted radar is capable of checking that drivers are maintaining a safe following distance, detecting if a vehicle is overtaking on the right or driving on the hard shoulder, whether the driver is using a mobile phone whilst driving or is not wearing a seatbelt. This ‘super’ radar is currently being tested on the expressways in Marseille, at traffic lights in Strasbourg and Roubaix, and at level crossings in Lyon.
400 speed cameras this year
In 2019, more than 400 of these new-generation speed cameras are due to be installed on French roads. This figure will be multiplied by five, as ‘dummy’ speed camera units will also be deployed – 2,000 in total. A single speed camera can thus be moved between five different units, all without being spotted by motorists. By 2020, more than 4,000 units for 1,200 operational speed cameras will be in place. This new system is expected to build on existing speed camera zones. The Mesta Fusion 2 could therefore replace the speed cameras that have been vandalised in recent weeks.