Who Invented the Speed Camera? Léon Bollée's 1902 "Cinémomètre"

Speed enforcement began earlier than most think—and it wasn't a government project.

The Invention

• Inventor: Léon Bollée (French automobile pioneer, 1870–1913)
• Year: 1902
• Device Name: Cinémomètre
• Principle: Two pneumatic rubber tubes spaced 2 ft (0.61 m) apart. Vehicle tires compress each tube, triggering a timing clock. Speed = distance / time.

Context

• Bollée built early motorized tricycles (1895) and won the 1897 Paris–Dieppe race.
• The cinémomètre was demonstrated to French Automobile Club; intended for driver self-checking, not policing.
• First police speed camera: Netherlands, 1958 (Gatso, radar-based). First UK fixed camera: 1991 (M40, West London).

Evolution

1. 1902: Pneumatic tubes + mechanical timer (Bollée)
2. 1950s: Radar Doppler shift (Gatso, Mullard)
3. 1980s: Film-based wet-film cameras (Gatso, Redspeed)
4. 1990s: Digital sensors, ANPR integration
5. 2000s+: Average-speed (SPECS), LiDAR, AI video analytics

Bollée's tubes survive today as "road tubes" for traffic counting—the same physics, repurposed.