Traffic surveillance cameras help keep a tab on what’s happening in specific parts of public roadways, like accidents, deteriorating weather conditions, and violations, decreasing accident rates and saving lives. Over a period, law enforcement has employed various on-road surveillance devices to monitor driving. So, if you’re caught deviating, you’ll risk paying a hefty fine or getting your license suspended. There are different types of real-time traffic cameras that one may encounter on the road today.

Types of traffic cameras

Standard live traffic cameras include red light, speed, traffic sensor, ANPR, and stop sign cameras.

Red light camera
The red light camera gets triggered when a motion surpasses the stop bar after the signal turns red.

Enforcers install these cameras typically near the red light. They sit discreetly inside the box, but drivers can note a flash when the camera captures an image. Usually, these cameras are positioned on the roadside facing the crossing. States warn the drivers when they are near the camera or before the intersection. 

Speed cameras
These work similar to the red-light cameras. They also detect and issue violations but for speed. Their placement is slightly different from the red light cameras.

There are two kinds of speed cameras – mobile and fixed. 

It is often tricky to notice the mobile speed cameras, as they are not mounted to the ground permanently and can be located inside a van or on a camera tripod. And because these are mobile, you cannot rely on crowdsourcing databases or apps that let you see footage of highway surveillance cameras online to locate them. 

On the contrary, the fixed cameras are easy to spot. You will find them mounted on overhead light poles on the roadside. Their external flashes and heavy-weight weatherproof enclosures make it easier to spot them. 

Traffic sensor cameras
It is one of the least talked about cameras in the real-time traffic cameras   category. These are small, dome-shaped, and cylindrical cameras installed in a weatherproof enclosure, and you can spot these at the top of the light poles. Traffic sensor cameras measure traffic light timing and traffic flow. The enforcement system can always access the footage of this highway surveillance camera online,   but they rarely ever utilize the captured images or the archived videos from this camera.

Beyond aiding in traffic condition assessment, traffic sensor cameras have multiple benefits. They help the drivers check the traffic situation in their area via media and news outlets. As these cameras are installed in the congestion points, commuters know the state of affairs on the road before heading to a particular destination or traveling to work. 

Automated number plate recognition (ANPR) camera
ANPR cameras automatically analyze and read the license plate number of a vehicle. You can spot them at intersections. Similar to the speed cameras, these come in fixed and mobile versions. But these are not used for ticket issuance. However, they help track the location of drivers and vehicles and can extract driver and vehicle information from government databases. The law enforcement system can find the footage of these highway surveillance cameras online to keep a tab on traffic violators.

How do you distinguish between a traffic sensor camera and an ANPR camera? The ANPR camera functions in the invisible or infrared light spectrum, unlike the former. It helps ensure better low-light sensitivity for the camera to work even at night. Because of this, most ANPR cameras are packed with an infrared spotlight, comprising an infrared LED bundle. So, if you see this LED bundle, you can identify it as an ANPR camera. 

Stop sign cameras
The stop sign cameras utilize the radar to check if the vehicles roll through, stop, or drive right past the stop sign. Unfortunately, there is no clarity on whether they record video footage or how many images they take for the database. But, it is easier to spot these cameras. They are installed in large boxes, and similar to other auto-enforcers, the stop sign cameras will have a warning sign nearby for motorists to exercise caution.

It is easier to avoid incurring a specific violation ticket when you can differentiate among the many available traffic cameras and know how each works so that you are able not only to identify one when you happen to spot it on the road but also to maintain traffic flow by abiding by the requisite rules.