Seeing a lot of mobile speed cameras on your summer road trips? Here’s how they work

While driving during the summer holidays, there is a good chance you will see a strange looking white or yellow box on the side of the road.

It could have cameras protruding from the roof or be adorned with road safety slogans.

It is a mobile road safety camera. He’ll catch you doing everything from speeding to using your phone while driving to not wearing a seat belt.

So how did these cameras come about and how do they work?

The toll refuses to give way

In Australia, around 1,200 Every year people die in car accidents.

The number of seriously injured people has increased 34,000 in 2011 to around 39,000 in 2019 (although this may be partly explained by changes in the way hospital admissions are reported).

Alarmingly, these numbers show no signs of slowing down.

It is widely recognized that behaviors such as speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, fatigue, distraction and dangerous driving increase the risk of having an accident.

Failure to use a seat belt can cause more serious injuries when an accident occurs.

To reduce the trauma on our roads caused by these behaviors, we must increase compliance with road rules and encourage safer driving. The use of security cameras for law enforcement has become a crucial part of the road safety response.

A brief history of security cameras

Speed ​​cameras were first used in Australia in 1985 with the introduction of speed cameras in Victory.

Since then, the use of speed cameras has grown to include fixed red light and speed cameras, mobile speed cameras (which can be moved to different locations), and point-to-point speed cameras (also known as average speed cameras).

Over the past three years, mobile phone detection cameras have been introduced in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, ACT and Tasmania, and will soon be operational in South Australia. They have also been tested in Western Australia.

Currently, Queensland and Tasmania are the only states that also use these cameras to monitor seat belt use, although New South Wales intends to do so in 2024.

Speed ​​cameras, whether they monitor speed or other dangerous driving behavior, can be fixed or mobile.

Fixed cameras are permanently located in one location and operate 24 hours a day. They have been used primarily to combat speeding and red lights.

Mobile cameras, those trailers you can see on the side of the road, can be moved from one location to another and deployed virtually anywhere and at any time. They are primarily used to combat speeding and can also be mounted on a vehicle or tripod.

Trailer-mounted security cameras can be left unattended for longer periods of time and are typically equipped with safety devices such as alarms and security cameras. They also have a secure casing (which is sometimes bulletproof) to protect them from tampering and vandalism.

They are typically placed in areas with a history of accidents or where speeding, distractions, use of safety devices, or safety are concerns.

So how do they actually work?

Security cameras use radar or laser to detect and measure the speed of vehicles. Sensors embedded in the road are used to detect a red light.

Depending on how they are configured, traffic cameras can monitor multiple vehicles in multiple lanes and approaching from opposite directions.

They use high-definition cameras that are effective in different weather and lighting conditions, including night, fog, and heavy rain. Some can identify and enforce speed limits for different types of vehicles (such as heavy goods vehicles).

They can also use automatic license plate recognition capabilities that allow them to detect or identify so-called “hot list” vehicles that are of interest to police (stolen, unregistered or unlicensed owners, for example).

Fixed and mobile cameras monitor speeds in their vicinity, while point-to-point cameras measure the average speed of vehicles between two points and as vehicles pass camera locations at the beginning and end of the zone. Currently, point-to-point law enforcement is fixed, but portable cameras will also likely be used in the future.

Mobile phone detection cameras use high-definition cameras and infrared lighting that allow them to see through the windshield and determine when someone is illegally using a mobile phone. They can also determine if they are wearing their seat belt correctly.

These cameras can also measure vehicle speed and use license plate recognition to monitor vehicles. It means they can help enforce virtually anything. They can be fixed or mobile.

Are you working to improve driver behavior?

Research indicates that security cameras do exactly what the label implies: improve security.

TO systematic review Evaluation of the effects of different types of radars suggests that they are effective in reducing average speed and the number of speeding vehicles and, more importantly, reduce serious injuries and fatal accidents by approximately one 20% each.

There have not yet been any studies examining the effectiveness of cell phone cameras. However, New South Wales experienced a substantial decline in mobile phone use in the three years following its introduction.

Law enforcement data also shows that cameras are an efficient and effective method ofdetect violations.

Simply relying on common sense, courtesy, or self-interest will not be enough to reduce the trauma caused by bad driver behavior.

The security cameras work. They will continue to play an important role in reducing these behaviors and making our roads safer for everyone.

This article is republished from The conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the Original article.