- New speed controls are not coming yet
The impetus came from police practice, the state parliament gave the green light at the end of 2022, but implementation is stuck: Speed monitoring in the form of section controls cannot be implemented in Saxony-Anhalt due to a lack of approved technology. There is currently no operational, market-ready system in Europe that possesses a required type approval certificate from the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), according to the response from the Ministry of the Interior to a minor inquiry by SPD state parliamentarian Rüdiger Erben.
The principle of the novel speed monitoring system, Section Control: Instead of measuring the speed of a vehicle at a specific point, the average speed is measured over several measurement points within a section.
So far, only one system in Lower Saxony
"The manufacturer of the so far only system for section control in Lower Saxony stated in the course of the market research carried out by the police inspection central services that it had no interest in setting up another system, as the system installed at that time was no longer offered by this manufacturer," the Ministry of the Interior explained. Now, Europe-wide market research is required to find manufacturers who are willing to have their system approved by the PTB.
The state parliament had paved the way for section-related speed controls for the police in Saxony-Anhalt in December 2022. SPD parliamentarian Erben pointed out that the impetus for this came from police practice.
The Ministry of the Interior still finds the idea good: The novel controls would be a useful addition to police capabilities and could contribute to improving traffic safety, it said. Immediately after the new state law came into force, police and technical checks and market surveys were initiated.
Despite thegreen light from the state parliament in December 2022, the implementation of speed monitoring through section controls in Saxony-Anhalt remains stalled due to lacking approved technology. The police, in their pursuit of implementing this system, have reached out to various manufacturers across Europe, including those in Lower Saxony, but have met with little success.
The police force in Saxony-Anhalt is hopeful that Europe-wide market research will yield manufacturers willing to have their systems approved by the PTB, enabling the implementation of section controls, a practice they believe would enhance their capabilities and contribute to enhanced traffic safety.
