Trailer-mounted equipment detects seatbelt compliance and measures vehicle speed
Police surveillance of seatbelt compliance and speeding receives a boost with
the new test equipment. Developed by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland,
the equipment also measures distance between vehicles, road surface condition
and calculates traffic emissions. The test equipment is part of an EU project
aimed at improving traffic safety and reducing accidents caused by traffic
rule violations. The technical test phase will continue until the end of next
year, after which part of the equipment will be ready for production.
The equipment, based on automatic camera surveillance and wireless network
connection, is handily located on a mobile trailer unit. The police are thus
able to monitor traffic and impose penalties for violations more
comprehensively and fairly. The monitoring information is gathered into a
common database available to the police, road operators and environmental
authorities. A pilot system has been launched in Tampere enabling the police
to test the equipment.
The aim is to develop the test
equipment to match police requirements as closely as possible. The database is
strictly protected by firewalls and technical solutions. The equipment
automatically destroys images over one month old and those in which no traffic
violation is evident. After the test phase the surveillance technology can be
transferred from the test trailer to police vehicles. VTT estimates that the
full technology will be ready for commercialising in 2013.
The
total budget for the ASSET project (Advanced Safety and Driver Support for
Essential Road Transport) is EUR 8.2 million, mostly funded by the European
Commission.
The EU project runs a total of four test sites,
the other three being located in Germany, France and Austria. The budget for
the Finnish test site is approximately EUR 270,000. VTT Technical Research
Centre of Finland is responsible for the development of the Finnish test
equipment in cooperation with service operator Emtele Oy and National Traffic
Police.
Consortium partners – a blend of universities,
research institutes, businesses and end users – number 19 in all, come from
Europe, Tanzania and India. The three-year project is set to close at the end
of next year.
Media material:
New test equipment for traffic
control, Dr. Matti Kutila/VTT
The
project in a nutshell, Dr.-Ing. Walter Maibach/PTV AG
Enforcement
Technology, Mr. Rigobert Opitz/ROC Systemtechnik GmbH
Police
needs, Mr. Jarmo Puustinen/National Traffic police
Data
management, Dr. Hannu Martikainen/Emtele Oy
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