State-of-the-art mobile cameras increase the Met’s speed enforcement capabilities
Truvelo’s newer-generation, more portable LASERcam4 cameras now equip moped-mounted speed enforcement teams.
The superior portability provided by the LASERcam4 camera has enabled the Metropolitan Police Service (‘the Met’) to transform its mobile speed enforcement strategy. New moped-mounted patrols, which are able to park at locations previously inaccessible to mobile enforcement teams, are increasing the number of sites able to be effectively covered by safety cameras
The Met uses mobile camera technology to support its combination of static spot and average speed cameras. Mobile cameras add a degree of unpredictability to the enforcement effort, discouraging rat-running and improving overall safety on all routes.
However, portability was an issue with previous-generation camera technology. The battery packs, for instance, were a two-person lift and a van was needed to carry all of the necessary supporting equipment.
The LASERcam4, by contrast, is a truly handheld, IP55-certified device which weighs just 1.7kg with its integral eight-hour power supply.
It combines this form factor with class-leading performance: its Class 1 Eye-Safe laser is effective from 3-750m, with a beam divergence of <1mrad; it has an acquisition time of 0.3s; speed accuracy is +/-1mph over a 10-200mph range; and its exceptional day and low-light capabilities, including IR enforcement compatibility, are allied to auto-focus, exposure and zoom features.
In order to guarantee the integrity of its prosecutions, and to ensure that the number of successful challenges to citations is very low, the Met uses pre-surveyed locations for mobile speed enforcement. Speed limits and road markings must be legal, signage clearly visible and so on.
The accessibility and parking options provided by mopeds mean that more sites can now be brought online — and, in terms of preserving citation integrity, the LASERcam4 helps further by being able to capture images of offending vehicles’ drivers. The camera’s data-logging feature also enables speed surveys to be carried out, so the Met’s Vision Zero & Road Danger Reduction team can more accurately ascertain compliance on individual routes.
To support operations, Truvelo (UK) has also supplied the Met with a series of remote Dockers. These feature internal computing power combined with a router, onboard GPS and a SIM card, and enable the remote transfer of violation data securely, robustly and at very high speed into the Central Ticketing Office.
The Dockers connect to a Truvelo Violation Management System (VMS). The VMS is a state-of-the-art electronic back office solution capable of handling all kinds of traffic-related criminal and civil offences.
The LASERcam4-Docker-VMS chain enables near-instant violation processing — it is important, given the time limits placed on successful prosecutions, to be able to process potential offences very quickly, and seamless download from the LASERcam4 means that Met operatives can adjudicate the offences that they detect within the same shift.
“We’re very pleased of the capability that we’ve brought to the Met,” says Truvelo (UK)’s Sales and Marketing Director Calvin Hutt. “The improved accuracy, speed and geographical spread of the mobile enforcement effort is a major contributor to improved road safety.
“The effort to further increase the LASERcam4’s portability is ongoing and we’re currently looking at a backpack-able solution. The ability of enforcement teams to use public transport while getting around major cities would bring a whole new level of unpredictability and effectiveness to mobile enforcement, extending its influence in urban areas in particular.”
