They have been installed as part of a Welsh transport appraisal guidance survey, commissioned by the Welsh Government, to track traffic safety and traffic flow on and around the Highbeech roundabout in Chepstow.
According to Monmouthshire County Council, the survey aims to highlight improvements that can be made to safety on the roundabout.
Drivers noticed the cameras on lampposts around the town at the end of November.
READ MORE: ANPR cameras attached to lampposts all over Chepstow
The temporary ANPR cameras were installed by a company called Tracsis for a short time on multiple roads in the town.
ANPR cameras “can monitor and display live journey times, flow rates, travel speed, queues, occupancy and vehicle counts,” according to Tracsis.
ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) is a specialized surveillance tool used for reading and capturing vehicle license plates automatically.
They can record and track your vehicle’s movements from its origin to destination, and the journey time.
The cameras also have the ability to track any road violations as well as the emissions released by your vehicle.
Though the council have confirmed that the cameras were not installed for enforcement purposes.
Within the last decade, ANPR cameras have become an essential tool for improving security and automating many processes related to vehicle monitoring and control.
A spokesperson for Monmouthshire County Council said: “The Welsh Government has commissioned Transport for Wales to complete Welsh transport appraisal guidance (WelTAG) studies on the Chepstow Highbeech roundabout to determine what mitigations/ improvements can be made to improve safety and improve traffic flows.”
“The ATC cameras have been installed to collect traffic movement data, which will be used to inform the WelTAG2 study.
“The cameras are not there for enforcement purposes and will be removed following the data collection period.”
