The speed cameras are part of a next generation of technology. File photo.
Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson

The first of the country’s ‘smart’ cameras to spot driving offences is going in on a highway in Northland.

Waka Kotahi has been testing smart cameras that can spot drivers using cellphones or not wearing their seatbelts.

However, Waka Kotahi said this first one was not one of those models, and though it could average and measure speed between two points, it will only be used like a normal static speed camera.

A law change is needed before it could do more than that.

It is being put on State Highway 1 between Kawakawa and Moerewa.

“Whilst historically sites have been chosen based on crash history, we are aiming to take a more proactive approach in defining high-risk locations,” the agency said.

“This includes consideration of average speeds, the function of the road, the volumes on the road and crash trends.”

The new camera will be tested first.

A privacy impact assessment on the cameras was being done because part of being “smart” means they can read vehicle number plates.

Also, nine new cameras will be going in around Auckland later in the year as NZTA takes over speed camera operations from police, though these will not be smart ones.

They are the Redflex NK-7 cameras like those the police currently use, and cannot average a car’s speed or read its number plate.