In yet another blow for UK motorists the government is considering the rollout of ‘average-speed’ cameras on hundreds of miles of motorway under its plan to actively control speeding instead of just measuring it. The system uses a number of linked cameras mounted at intervals along a roadway. They detect your car and record the time you pass and then calculate the average speed taken to travel the distance between.

This means you would no longer be able to slow down just in front of a camera until you pass it and then resume driving above the limit. Instead you will have to maintain a speed within the posted limit for an entire stretch of road that could potentially last miles, reports the Daily Express.

The system can also deal with lane changes but it’s not clear how effectively they can differentiate drivers who may need to speed to avoid an accident. If employed, it means drivers will annoyingly have to keep an eye constantly on their speedo.

Driver organizations have already lashed out at the draconian measures but the cameras are already undergoing a number of trials, adding credibility to claims average-speed cameras will be installed along most of the UK’s major roadways in the near future. So far the cameras have only been used on motorways when roadwork is taking place.