The Three Types of Speed Cameras You'll Meet

Speed enforcement across the Balkans relies on three very different technologies. Knowing how each one works is the first step to driving safely — and legally — on unfamiliar roads.

Fixed Speed Cameras

Fixed cameras are permanently mounted on poles, gantries or roadside boxes. They measure your speed at a single point using radar or an inductive loop buried in the road. Because they never move, their locations become well known over time — but a camera that is switched off one week may be active the next. Never assume a fixed camera is inactive just because you passed it safely before.

Mobile Speed Cameras

Mobile cameras are the hardest to predict. Police operate them from parked vehicles, tripods on the roadside, or even hand-held radar guns. They appear without warning, relocate daily, and are frequently placed just after a speed-limit drop — at the bottom of a hill, near a village entrance, or after a motorway exit. No map can track them reliably because they move constantly.

Average-Speed Cameras

Average-speed systems (sometimes called section control) use two or more cameras placed kilometres apart. They record the time you enter and exit a zone and calculate your average speed over the whole stretch. Braking hard for a single camera does nothing here — you must stay under the limit for the entire section. These are increasingly common on Balkan motorways and in long tunnels.

How Enforcement Differs by Country

Croatia & Slovenia: Heavy use of fixed and average-speed cameras on motorways, with strict tunnel enforcement.

Serbia & North Macedonia: Mobile radar is very common, often on rural roads and at village limits.

Greece: A mix of fixed cameras on national roads and mobile patrols during holidays.

Bulgaria: Growing network of fixed and average-speed cameras, plus mobile units on main routes.

Why a Real-Time App Matters

Because mobile cameras move and limits change with roadworks, a static map is always out of date. RoadRadar combines a database of known fixed and average-speed camera zones with live, community-reported mobile checkpoints — so you get a warning before you reach the zone, not after.

• Advance alerts for fixed and average-speed camera zones
• Live reports of mobile cameras and police checkpoints from nearby drivers
• Clear speed-limit reminders so you can adjust in good time

Drive Informed with RoadRadar

Understanding how each camera type works helps you keep a steady, legal speed instead of braking in panic. Keep RoadRadar running on every journey and let the community help you stay one step ahead of the cameras.