That was a flashlight! Or?

The traffic light just turned red while I was driving through. There was a speed camera at the traffic light! Or? Very few technical devices on traffic lights have anything to do with speed cameras or speed measurements. Traffic lights are easy to distinguish from traffic lights without a flash function.

How do I recognize a speed camera?

Basically you have to know that – contrary to popular belief – 99% of the traffic light cameras are not at the traffic light that is being driven through, but a few meters behind it, usually on the other side of the intersection, are attached. Here is a classic example:

Not at the traffic light, but only on the other side of the intersection is flashed.

• Traffic light without flash system or traffic light with motion detectors

There is a misconception that every technical device at traffic lights could be a speed camera. As already mentioned, this is almost never the case. A technical helper, which is attached to many traffic lights, is usually a small, round motion detector. His job is to “look” at the stop line and check if there is a car there. If there is only rarely a car on one side of the intersection, the other driving directions will be green for longer. The little-used side street gets green only when necessary. Of course, such a device cannot read license plates or even record red violations. A motion detector looks like this:

Not a speed camera, but a motion detector that optimizes the flow of traffic.

• Surely flashed? Legal expenses insurance can help
  If you have been flashed and have clearly run a red light, only legal protection insurance can help: With it, you can take legal action against a possible driving ban without bearing a high cost risk. According to this legal protection insurance comparison, “KS Auxilia” is one of the top insurance companies in the field and costs around 13 euros per month.