Came across this news story which mightbe of interest to list members...
New Type of Speed Cameras on M1 & M20
Speedcheck SVVD or SPECS went online last weekend on the M1, netting 4,300 offenders in a single
day. The system does not use instantaneous speed like the cameras we're all familiar with,
instead measuring the average speed of every vehicle over a distance of about a mile. How? By
reading your license plates and matching them up camera-to-camera.
Kent and Leicestershire police are so impressed with it that systems are being erected in their
enforcement areas too. This is a new system which as now entered service after successful trials
on the M1 and M20 in the UK. Speedcheck SVDD (Sureway Video Detection Device) is a system similar
in concept to the GATSO, but with a new twist. SVDD deploys cameras at either end of a measured
baseline (up to 500 metres) to monitor vehicles 24 hours
day. Using machine vision, vehicle numberplates are read, and the precise time of each
observation recorded and as a vehicle passes the second camera, the numberplate records are
matched, and an average speed for the vehicle is calculated. If this is above the trigger speed,
then the vehicle's identification is recorded along with it's speed. It is also flashed up on a
huge illuminated sign further down the road to embarrass the driver into slowing down. When
triggered, the detection technology used in these cameras automatically records the date, precise
time, location and speed of the offending vehicle, along with a full colour image of the front of
the vehicle, which clearly records the numberplate, make, model and colour of vehicle. There's
five overriding reasons for the habitual speeded to be afraid of this system: It works 24 hours a
day, needs no film, uses no flash, and uses no radar....so bad luck all those of you who think
that radar detectors work. It's been proven to be over 99% accurate in almost all weather
conditions. It doesn't do spot-speed checking. A GATSO can only check the speed of a vehicle
within a certain range so the tactic most drivers use now is to slow down for the camera and then
speed up again once past it. Speedcheck measures average speed over a known distance. So if you
do 60mph under each camera and then speed up to 80mph in between, your average speed is likely to
be near 70mph - 10 over the limit imposed - you're nicked. SVDD say this means that the system
can impose a far smoother flow of traffic eliminating slow-fast driving that GATSO cameras
provoke. Because it's automated, the system is entirely self-sufficient. It's hooked up to the
DVLA computers, and can automatically process the fines and send out notices in the post.
It's Big Brother. Don't believe for a moment that this technology will only be used to catch
speeders. It could eventually be used to keep track of where every single car in the country is
at any given moment in time once the network of these things becomes broad enough.
Regards
William Webster
--
C. William R. Webster
Centre for the Study of Telematics and Governance (CSTAG)
Glasgow Caledonian University
Department of Management
City Campus
Cowcaddens Road
Glasgow
G4 0BA
Scotland
Tel: 0141 331 1271
Fax: 0141 331 3269
Mobile: 0780 806 9164
Email: [log in to unmask]
Homepage: http://cbs3.gcal.ac.uk/cstag/staghome.htm
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