Average Speed Camera Calculator (Section Control)

How it works

average speed = distance ÷ time · time in hours = (minutes × 60 + seconds) ÷ 3,600 · minimum legal time = distance ÷ speed limit

Average speed cameras (section control, or "radares de tramo") read your number plate at two points and divide the distance between them by the time you took. Briefly exceeding the limit does not matter to these systems, but the average does: if you take less than distance ÷ limit, the average is over. Enforcement tolerances differ by country and are not published everywhere, so the only safe target is to stay at or under the limit.

Worked example

Two cameras 5 km apart, passed in 3 minutes 5 seconds (185 s): average speed = 5 ÷ (185 ÷ 3,600) = 97.3 km/h, under the 100 km/h limit. At exactly 100 km/h the section takes 3:00, so any time under 3 minutes would mean an average over the limit.

Sources: Traffic enforcement camera — average speed (section control) cameras · DGT (Spain) — Radares de tramo

Frequently asked questions