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Traffic Cameras
The Highways Agency has been using Traffic Cameras to assist with the management of traffic on the trunk road and motorway network in England for nearly 30 years. Wales and Scotland have separate operations.
The traffic cameras are usually mounted on 12m high masts on the grass verge or on overhead gantries but are often inconspicuous because they are not painted with high visibility paint, primarily because they are not used for speed enforcement.
The primary users of the traffic cameras are the Highways Agency's Regional and National Traffic Control Centre operators. The operators are able to move and zoom the cameras to monitor and manage congestion and incidents. The cameras give a bird's eye view of what is happening which helps the operator to decide the support needed. The images are sent to the Highways Agency's Information Line (HAIL) who are there to keep the public informed.
Highways Agency has developed policies and a technical interface that will allow all stakeholders to view the images in a format suitable for their needs. The mechanism by which stakeholders are linked to the Highways Agency's traffic cameras is known as the VIH (Video Information Highway). The distribution of the images from traffic management cameras supports the Highways Agency's objective of providing improved information to the road user. In giving the public access to live images of the network we hope to help people to better plan their journeys prior to leaving the home or workplace.
The images from the Traffic Cameras are Crown Copyright protected. Organisations who wish to re-use the images will need to apply for a licence agreement from the Highways Agency if they will:
- complement the Highways Agency's remit in operating, maintaining and improving the trunk road and motorway network in England
- help to deliver the Highways Agency's core business aims of safer roads, more reliable journeys and better informed travellers.
View Traffic Cameras across our Network
Please visit our Traffic England pages and select the Traffic Camera check box option to view cameras for specific motorways and Junctions.
