The vehicle occupancy cameras that will issue 200-euro fines in Spain: this is how they work and where they’ll operate first

Spain’s Directorate-General of Traffic (DGT) has installed its first vehicle occupancy camera on the A2 motorway, on the section entering Madrid city from Barajas Airport. This device aims to monitor the use of the new Bus-VAO lane and penalise drivers travelling solo, as this is not permitted for such a lane.

This particular type of device is used to prevent improper use of the lanes exclusively designated for high-occupancy vehicles (HOV in English, but known as VAO or Bus-VAO here in Spain). The lane that will be added to this dual carriageway from the first quarter of 2026 will prioritise the use of public transport and private transport vehicles with at least two occupants.

The main peculiarity of this future HOV lane is that it will not have a physical separation from the other lanes, which, according to the traffic authorities, makes it necessary to use a specific radar to control improper use.

Vehicle occupancy cameras, also known as black radars because of their much more discreet casing than standard speed cameras, do not measure speed at all. Instead, they scan the interior of cars to check they have at least two occupants.

Drivers caught travelling alone on a VAO lane face a fine of 200 euros. These devices are integrated into the DGT 3.0 ecosystem, a connected system that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse images in real time. Each unit consists of two synchronised, fixed cameras, one installed at the start of the VAO lane and the other some 50 to 100 metres further along. The cameras are equipped with infrared optical sensors and computer vision software that detects human silhouettes with 95% accuracy.

These systems are capable of processing up to 1,000 vehicles per hour, distinguishing between solo drivers and actual occupants by analysing thermal and movement patterns while also managing to ignore elements such as a human-shaped object, like a mannequin, or pets.

These cameras are powered by built-in solar panels and data is transmitted via 5G to central servers to generate automatic fines against vehicle number plates, without the need for any immediate police intervention. A unique feature of these systems is their near invisibility, as they do not flash or emit any other signal to give themselves away.