Regions Shut Down Dozens of Active Traffic Cameras
On September 1, 2024, amendments to the Federal Law on Highways (FZ-197) came into effect, launching a reform of the entire system for photo and video recording of traffic violations in Russia. As a result, regional authorities conducted audits of their camera networks.
According to Kommersant, 87 cameras in the Moscow region were found not to meet the new requirements—about 4% of the total. The main issue was the absence of accident hotspots (defined as three to five accidents with injuries per year) at the locations where the cameras were installed. Additionally, some cameras placed above pedestrian crossings did not actually monitor the crossings themselves, but only the vehicles approaching them. The Moscow Region Ministry of Transport stated, “The devices are currently being dismantled and will be relocated.”
The State Institution “Road Safety” of Tatarstan identified 95 cameras (11%) installed with various violations. Starting September 1, data from these cameras will no longer be used to issue fines. In the Sverdlovsk region, cameras on 28 road sections will be switched to traffic monitoring mode without issuing fines. However, officials promise that if accident hotspots appear in these areas, the cameras will be switched back to violation-recording mode.
In the Omsk region, the operation of 23 cameras (10% of the total) will be adjusted. Some will be moved to other locations, and 12 cameras have been reconfigured to comply with the minimum distance requirements between active systems—these will be alternately activated on different days. The “Center for Information Technologies” in Buryatia checked 214 systems and found seven operating in areas that were not accident hotspots.
The Irkutsk Region Ministry of Transport found 53 cameras (25% of the total) that did not meet placement requirements. Some will be relocated, some will be switched to traffic monitoring without recording violations, and others will be used as decoys. The Ministry of Internal Affairs in Yakutia declared cameras on 17 road sections non-compliant with the new standards; these have already been moved to more accident-prone locations. The Ministry of Transport in Bashkortostan plans to relocate 31 cameras.
The St. Petersburg City Monitoring Center did not specify the number of cameras being shut down but confirmed that several “ineffective systems” have been identified and will be relocated. The Khabarovsk Road Administration reported that some cameras were moved slightly after the audit, while others were switched to traffic flow monitoring mode and will be relocated later.
In contrast, the Voronezh region government stated that 100% of their systems meet the new requirements. The Ministry of Road Management and Transport of the Chelyabinsk region reported the same.
According to the publication, the cost of fully relocating a single camera can reach up to 500,000 rubles. However, no financial resources were allocated for this purpose in the 2024 budget.