New traffic cameras to be installed in Glasgow
AGERMANY company has been awarded nearly £500,000 of public money to bring in bring in a new generation of high-tech traffic cameras to catch speeders and amber gamblers.
Transport Scotland has signed off on the contract to install spot speed cameras across Glasgow and Strathclyde and Edinburgh and the Lothians.
Instead of in-road movement sensors and dazzling camera flashes the new devices use an invisible infra-red light combined with number plate recognition technology.
The hi-tech yellow cameras can detect road rule breakers while the Scottish Government carries out a review of speed limits on the country’s roads.
Amber gamblers and red light runners will also be targeted by the new distinctive yellow cameras, which operate in a different way to current traffic cameras.
The Vector SR cameras are designed to detect speeding, running red lights and “speed on green” offences, catching so-called amber gamblers who accelerate when approaching junctions.
Transport Scotland is about to review speed limits amid speculation that the national 70mph limit could be cut and speeds in built-up areas could be subject to a blanket 20mph limit.
The £483,285 contract was awarded to Jenoptik to supply and
install an unspecified number of its Vector SR cameras.
The company states on its website: “Vector SR uses tracking radar for spot speed enforcement or to identify any vehicle which crosses a white line at a traffic signal.
“A powerful and proven in-station solution is also used to present speed and red light offence data to the back office, based around the proven Vector Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera platform, “Vector SR can unobtrusively gather rich data for all passing vehicles, both for civil and security/policing applications.”
The German company said its ‘spot’ speed cameras work in the same way as SPECS speed cameras
by measuring the average speed of a vehicle between two or more locations using ANPR.
Vector is also capable of being used for bus lane enforcement, level crossing infringements, tolling, congestion charging and parking management.
Those, which are also bright yellow, can be programmed to spot drivers not wearing a seatbelt, using a phone, eating, drinking or even smoking behind the wheel.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said the Scottish Safety Camera Programme would add the spot cameras to the a range of safety cameras it uses to detect speeding vehicles and non-compliance with red lights.