Vandalism forces tougher design for speed cameras as Safe City units reach Ohrid
Reinforced housings and deeper-mounted electronics are becoming standard as vandalism against speed cameras grows worldwide; Safe City units have been placed on the road to Ohrid.
Vandal attacks on traffic speed cameras have become widespread worldwide, prompting manufacturers to redesign housings and internal layouts to withstand impacts, arson and even gunfire. The trend has drawn attention as similar units were rolled out on Macedonian streets and roads since the start of the year.
Incidents are particularly frequent in France, where cameras used to measure speed have long been targeted: some are set on fire, others are smashed, daubed with paint or otherwise disabled. During the Yellow Vests protests that began in 2018, about 60 percent of the roughly 3,200 speed cameras at that time were damaged or destroyed.
Manufacturers and vandals in an arms race
Attacks are not limited to France. In the United Kingdom, an organized campaign in the early 2000s saw more than 700 cameras destroyed, and similar episodes have been recorded in the United States and other European countries. As a response, producers are reinforcing camera enclosures: newer models use thick steel and bullet-resistant materials, and move electronics and optics deeper inside the protected casing.
Despite those improvements, complete protection remains elusive. Even the sturdiest devices can be knocked out by paint smeared on the lens, deliberate arson or by physically displacing the whole unit. In France the problem persists, with hundreds of speed cameras reportedly out of service at any given moment and annual maintenance and repair costs for authorities running into tens of millions of euros.
Locally, cameras installed as part of the Safe City project have already been placed on the road to Ohrid, and officials say the system will soon be put into operation in the city itself. The debate over cameras has long exceeded simple attempts to avoid fines; in many places they have become symbols of resistance to automated surveillance and broader traffic policies, keeping industry and vandals locked in a cycle of new protections and new attacks.
Photo: Sloboden pechat / Dragan Mitreski
