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Speed cameras installed in small Italian towns generate millions, while Rome, Milan, and other major centers record a drop in revenue
A survey on traffic fines in Italy revealed a distortion that caught the country’s attention. Small Italian municipalities have started to collect millions with speed cameras, locally known as autovelox, despite having very small populations.
The most significant case occurred in Colle Santa Lucia, a village with just over 300 inhabitants, located in the Dolomites, in the Veneto region. Between 2021 and 2025, a single camera installed in the municipality generated more than 2 million euros, according to data from Codacons, an Italian consumer association.
The amount is equivalent to an average of 5,989 euros per resident. This figure placed the small locality at the center of a national discussion about monitoring, fines, and public revenue.
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Survey shows the impact of speed cameras in small towns
The analysis by Codacons was based on data sent to the Ministry of the Interior of Italy. According to the survey, small localities manage to collect large sums because the cameras are installed in high-traffic areas.
The financial result depends less on the size of the population and more on the intensity of traffic on each monitored road. However, the criticism is not new.
The newspaper Corriere della Sera notes that speed cameras have been accused for years of functioning as a kind of ATM for local administrations. This perception has gained traction because some small municipalities have started to record revenues exceeding those of much larger cities.
Galatina and other towns also accumulate millions
The case of Colle Santa Lucia is not isolated. In Galatina, a municipality with about 26,000 inhabitants in the province of Lecce, in southern Italy, the cameras secured about 5.3 million euros in 2025.
This amount exceeded the revenue recorded by several major Italian cities. When adding the revenues of Trepuzzi, Cavallino, Lecce, and the province, the total reached 9.3 million euros.
Another point mentioned by the survey was the state highway Telesina, which connects the regions of Campania and Molise. Along this route, five municipalities with cameras collected together more than 2.8 million euros.
Large centers move in the opposite direction
The main Italian cities recorded a decline in the same period. In 2025, the largest cities collected 56.5 million euros with electronic radars.
The amount represented a decrease of 8.9% compared to the previous year. Among the large centers, Florence led the collection, with 19.7 million euros.
Following were Bologna, with 9.2 million euros, and Milan, with 6.9 million euros. Rome had the largest decline among the big cities.
The Italian capital saw revenue fall from 4.8 million to 2.3 million euros, a reduction of 52%.
Stricter rules change the fine landscape
According to Codacons, the decline in large cities was related to stricter rules adopted in 2025. Decisions by the Court of Cassation also annulled fines applied by approved but not homologated equipment.
These cases, however, are concrete decisions and do not form binding jurisprudence. Even so, they increased the debate about the validity of charges made by electronic radars.
The central point of the discussion is the homologation of the devices. A decree from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport provides that radars installed after 2017 are considered automatically homologated.
The text, however, has not yet been published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale, the Italian official journal.
Associations warn of a new wave of appeals
The association Assoutenti states that jurists question the validity of this rule. Therefore, the number of appeals against fines may increase on the eve of the summer exodus.
This scenario increases the pressure on city halls, drivers, and traffic authorities. At the same time, it reinforces the discussion about the limit between necessary enforcement and excessive collection.
For small municipalities, radars have become a relevant source of revenue. For drivers, however, the speed cameras have become a symbol of an increasingly contested charge.
Now, Italy needs to decide how to balance road safety, equipment legality, and transparency in public revenue. After all, should speed cameras be seen as a traffic safety tool or as a million-dollar revenue source for small towns?
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