Israeli Police Tighten Speed Camera Enforcement Following Traffic Violation Law Change

Just one day after Israel changed its judicial approach to minor speeding offenses, the Israeli Police announced a new enforcement adjustment involving the widely used A-3 speed cameras. These orange cameras, numbering around 100 and installed across roads and intersections nationwide, will now operate with updated enforcement thresholds. The Traffic Department conducted a comprehensive review of each camera’s location, analyzing road characteristics, traffic volume, accident data, and risk factors. Following this evaluation, Traffic Department Chief Commissioner Haim Shmueli decided to recalibrate the cameras’ speed violation thresholds to better reflect actual road conditions.

Previously, the A-3 cameras allowed a tolerance margin of about five percent above the speed limit before issuing fines, effectively ignoring slight speeding. However, the new calibration lowers this threshold, meaning drivers traveling just six to eight kilometers per hour over the limit could now be fined. Legally, all A-3 camera fines require an automatic five km/h deduction from the recorded speed to account for measurement error.

This enforcement change coincides closely with the recent reform of traffic courts, which reclassified minor speeding offenses as "traffic violations" rather than criminal offenses. This allows for faster, digital adjudication processes. The police expect this adjustment to significantly increase the number of fines issued, potentially resulting in hundreds of thousands of new citations in the coming months. Since the start of the year, the existing A-3 cameras have already issued over 276,000 fines.

The A-3 camera system has been in use for over a decade, with replacement efforts underway since December last year. Despite their visibility due to bright orange coloring, many drivers are still caught speeding. The police warn motorists to adhere strictly to speed limits to avoid automatic fines sent directly to their homes. The Ministry of Public Security also provides official information regarding the A-3 cameras and enforcement procedures.