1000 drivers snapped by A-7 Torrox speed trap

MORE than 1,000 drivers have been caught by the new speed radars in the tunnel section of the A-7 in Torrox since they came into operation on March 1. The maximum permitted speed in the tunnel, located near the municipal border with Nerja, is 100 kilometres per hour.

While most were driving between 110 and 130 kilometers per hour, there was one vehicle that was snapped doing 173 kilometers per hour. The Directorate General of Traffic (DGT) will be issuing them fines of up to €600 and the loss of six points off their licence.

This speed-trap and the one in Guadarrama (Madrid) are the average speed cameras installed in Spain so far.

The speed cameras measure the average speed in the tunnel, registering the vehicles’ number plates, when they enter and exit the tunnel.

Despite the high number of speeders in the first 20 days of operation, it is actually much lower than those recorded during February’s trial month, when 1,142 vehicles clocked in as being above the speed limit.

Meanwhile, in Puerto Banus, the fixed speed radar detected 46 vehicles traveling more than 110 kilometers per hour in the first two weeks since the government set the speed limit for driving on motorways and is the first radar in the province adapted to the new rules.

By Nicole Hallett