Average speed cameras are set to be introduced into residential areas from next year.
The government has approved the Spec3 cameras and plans to roll them out in 2010 with the aim of enforcing a 20mph speed limit in urban areas.
Camden, Southwark and Waltham Forrest will be among eight London boroughs to pioneer the cameras. Along with Norwich and York, they will also follow Portsmouth and introduce a blanket 20mph limit on all residential roads.
Research carried out by the Department for Transport in London claims that cutting the speed limit to 20mph makes these areas much safer for road users. According to the research, only one in forty pedestrians dies when hit at 20mph compared with one in five hit at 30mph.
The cameras will be connected to each other wirelessly - allowing them to track cars for up to 15 miles, monitoring their average speed.
More than 100 average speed cameras have already been installed at accident black spots and motorways.
