A traffic enforcement camera (also a red light camera, speed camera, road safety camera, bus lane camera, depending on use) is a camera which may be mounted beside or over a road or installed in an enforcement vehicle to detect motoring offenses, including speeding, vehicles going through a red traffic light, vehicles going through a toll booth without paying, unauthorized use of a bus lane, or for recording vehicles inside a congestion charge area. It may be linked to an automated ticketing system.
A worldwide review of studies found that speed cameras led to a reduction of "11% to 44% for fatal and serious injury crashes". The UK's Department for Transport estimated that cameras had led to a 22% reduction in personal injury collisions and 42% fewer people being killed or seriously injured at camera sites. The British Medical Journal reported that speed cameras were effective at reducing accidents and injuries in their vicinity and recommended wider deployment. An LSE study in 2017 found that "adding another 1,000 cameras to British roads could save up to 190 lives annually, reduce up to 1,130 collisions and mitigate 330 serious injuries." Research indicates that automated traffic enforcement alleviates biases associated with police stops.
The latest automatic number-plate recognition systems can be used for the detection of average speeds and raise concerns over loss of privacy and the potential for governments to establish mass surveillance of vehicle movements and therefore by association also the movement of the vehicle's owner. Vehicle owners are often required by law to identify the driver of the vehicle and a case was taken to the European Court of Human Rights which found that human rights were not being breached. Some groups, such as the American Civil Liberties Union in the US, claim that "the common use of speed traps as a revenue source also undercuts the legitimacy of safety efforts."
History
The idea of the speed cameras dates back to the late 19th century: the 1894 science fiction novel A Journey in Other Worlds, set in the year 2000, includes a description of "instantaneous kodaks" used by police to enforce speed limits. In 1905, Popular Mechanics reported on a patent for a "Time Recording Camera for Trapping Motorists" that enabled the operator to take time-stamped images of a vehicle moving across the start and endpoints of a measured section of road. The timestamps enabled the speed to be calculated, and the photo enabled identification of the driver.
The Dutch company Gatsometer BV, which was founded in 1958 by rally driver Maurice Gatsonides, produced the 'Gatsometer'. Gatsonides wished to better monitor his average speed on a race track and invented the device in order to improve his lap times. The company later started supplying these devices as police speed enforcement tools. The first systems introduced in the late 1960s used film cameras to take their pictures.Popular Mechanics, December 1969, "Smile, You Just Got a Ticket!" Michael Lamm, Page 75. Gatsometer introduced the first red light camera in 1965, the first radar for use with road traffic in 1971 and the first mobile speed traffic camera in 1982;
From the late 1990s, digital cameras began to be introduced. Digital cameras can be fitted with a network connection to transfer images to a central processing location automatically, so they have advantages over film cameras in speed of issuing fines, maintenance and operational monitoring. However, film-based systems may provide superior image quality in the variety of lighting conditions encountered on roads, and are required by courts in some jurisdictions. New film-based systems are still being sold, but digital pictures are providing greater versatility and lower maintenance and are now more popular with law enforcement agencies.
The first speed camera systems in the US were in Friendswood, Texas, in 1986 and La Marque, Texas, in 1987. Neither program lasted more than a few months before public pressure forced them to be dropped.
Types
Bus lane enforcement Some bus lane enforcement cameras use a sensor in the road, which triggers a number-plate recognition camera, which compares the vehicle registration plate with a list of approved vehicles and records images of other vehicles. Other systems use a camera mounted on the bus, for example in London where they monitor Red routes on which stopping is not allowed for any purpose (other than taxis and disabled parking permit holders).
On Monday, February 23, 2009, New York City announced testing camera enforcement of bus lanes on 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan where a New York City taxi illegally using the bus lanes would face a fine of $150 adjudicated by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission.New York City Department of Transportation: Commissioner Sadik-Khan, MTA Executive Director Sander, Chairman Daus announce camera enforcement of bus lanes to speed transit , Nyc.gov, February 23, 2009
In October 2013, in Melbourne (Australia), Melbourne Airport introduced seven automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR) cameras in their bus forecourt to monitor bus lanes and provide charging points based on vehicle type and the dwell time of each vehicle. Entry and exit cameras determine the length of stay and provide alerts for unregistered or vehicles of concern via onscreen, email, or SMS-based alerts. This system was the first of several Sensor Dynamics based ANPR solutions.
Red light enforcement
A red light camera is a traffic camera that takes an image of a vehicle that goes through an intersection where the light is red. The system continuously monitors the traffic signal and the camera is triggered by any vehicle entering the intersection above a preset minimum speed and following a specified time after the signal has turned red.
Red light cameras are also utilized in capturing texting-while-driving violators. In many municipalities, an officer monitors the cameras in a live command center and records all violations, including texting at a red light.
Speed limit enforcement
Speed enforcement cameras are used to monitor compliance with speed limits, which may use Doppler radar, LIDAR, stereo vision or automatic number-plate recognition. Other speed enforcement systems are also used which are not camera based.
Fixed or mobile speed camera systems that measure the time taken by a vehicle to travel between two or more fairly distant sites (from several hundred meters to several hundred kilometers apart) are called average speed cameras. These cameras time vehicles over a known fixed distance, and then calculate the vehicle's average speed for the journey.
Stop sign enforcement
In 2007, the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA), in California, installed the first stop sign cameras in the United States. The five cameras are located in state parks such as Franklin Canyon Park and Temescal Gateway Park. The operator, Redflex Traffic Systems Inc., is paid $20 per ticket. The fine listed on the citation is $100. In 2010, a class action lawsuit was filed against MRCA.
Noise pollution camera ("noise radar") Noise enforcement cameras are used to monitor and enforce compliance with local or national vehicle noise limits.
Noise cameras follow the same basic construction: a microphone linked to an ANPR video camera, mounted at a fixed location or on a mobile tripod. The ANPR camera is triggered when the microphone detects a passing vehicle emitting a sound signal above a pre-set decibel limit, capturing the vehicle registration and giving police or local government recourse to warn, fine, or prosecute the registered owner. These cameras have been designed to respond to mass complaints about vehicle noise (in 2020 New York City recorded over 99,000 noise complaints specifically related to vehicles).
Trials of noise cameras have been conducted in cities worldwide. In Taipei, fines range from US$65 to US$130, with additional fines for illegally modified exhausts of up to US$1000. The noise camera scheme won 90% voter approval; the national government then earmarked $4m to build a national network of noise cameras, including mobile cameras.
In 2020 the UK Department for Transport published a feasibility study commissioned from a joint venture between engineering consultancies Atkins and Jacobs. The Atkins/Jacobs noise camera setup was unable to consistently derive sound readings from cars travelling less than ten seconds apart from other vehicles. This camera was a trial unit that has not since been deployed. Similar results were found in a trial in Edmonton, Canada undertaken in 2018. Local government cited technical shortcomings with the trial setup to explain spending $192,000 on noise cameras that recouped $98,000 in fines.
Number-plate recognition systems
Automatic number-plate recognition can be used for purposes unrelated to enforcement of traffic rules.
The world's first all-weather, 24-hour, automatic number plate recognition system SAFE-T-CAM was developed in Australia for the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) by Telstra as the prime contractor and ICONIX and CSIRO as sub-contractors in 1991. In Australia's SAFE-T-CAM system, ANPR technology is used to monitor long-distance truck drivers to detect avoidance of legally prescribed driver rest periods.
The United Kingdom's police ANPR system logs all the vehicles passing particular points in the national road network, allowing authorities to track the movement of vehicles and individuals across the country.
In the UK, 80-year-old pensioner John Catt and his daughter Linda were stopped by City of London Police while driving in London in 2005. They had their vehicle searched under section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and were threatened with arrest if they refused to answer questions. After they complained formally, it was discovered they were stopped when their car was picked up by the roadside ANPR CCTV cameras; it had been flagged in the Police National Computer database when they were seen near EDO MBM demonstrations in Brighton. Critics say that the Catts had been suspected of no crime, however, the police ANPR system led to them being targeted due to their association.
Multipurpose camera In 2011, a multipurpose smart enforcement camera was tested in Finland. This camera can check driving speeds, the driver wearing a seatbelt, the distance between cars, insurance, and tax payments.
Other multipurpose cameras can check vehicles passing over the railway crossing.
In 2016, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) implemented the No Contact Apprehension Policy in apprehending traffic violations such as disregarding traffic control signs and other violations via their closed-circuit television camera or other digital camera and/or other technologies. It was later adapted by other Metro Manila local government units such as Manila, Parañaque, Quezon City, Valenzuela, San Juan, Muntinlupa and Marikina, and also in provinces LGUs like Cauayan in Isabela and the whole province of Bataan.
Other Congestion charge cameras to detect vehicles inside the chargeable area which have not paid the appropriate fee High-occupancy vehicle lane cameras to identify vehicles violating occupancy requirements. Level crossing cameras to identifying vehicles crossing railways at grade Noise pollution cameras that record evidence of heavy vehicles that break noise regulations by using compression release engine brakes Parking cameras that issue citations to vehicles that are illegally parked or that were not moved from a street at posted times. Toll-booth cameras to identify vehicles proceeding through a toll booth without paying the toll Turn cameras at intersections where specific turns are prohibited on red. This type of camera is mostly used in cities or heavily populated areas.