[thisislondon] They have been demolished with diggers, destroyed by
fire and even blown up with explosives by angry motorists. Now a speed
camera billed as the toughest in the world has been designed in an
attempt to repel vandals. The device towers 13ft above the road and
features strengthened glass
as well as a fire-resistant body and a stiffened steel base.
It is fitted with smoke and vibration sensors which can detect an attack. If someone does try to damage the camera, it triggers an alarm at the
nearest police station and automatically downloads all its vital
digital photographic data back to base so that no evidence is lost.
The camera’s enforcement technology is just as hi-tech.
It
can monitor four lanes of traffic at once, take front and rear facing
images and, unlike the UK’s current fixed speed cameras, can patrol
both sides of the road simultaneously.
The IDEE machine – it
stands for Innovative Digital Enforcement Environment – is already in
use in Holland. According to the car magazine Auto Express, the Dutch
manufacturer is hoping to bring it to the UK.
Mat Watson, news
and features editor of Auto Express, said: "We’ve spoken to the maker
and have found out they are keen to sell it across the rest of Europe
including Britain.
"This would be done through their UK
operation. The camera would need to go through Home Office-type
approval before it could be put to work on the roads here, but this
process could take less than a year.
"And the device should
certainly appeal to the authorities here because it’s the toughest
speed camera in the world thanks to an array of anti-vandal counter
measures."
The most significant of these is its fire-resistant properties.
The
camera’s internal design insulates the important enclosed electronics
against extreme heat allowing them to survive most fires unharmed.
The camera, which costs between £30,000 and £50,000 depending on
specification, is mounted in a thick steel base which is driven direct
into the ground without the need for concrete foundations.
This set-up provides added strength against being rammed or pulled out of the ground.
The camerasand flash equipment are protected behind impact-resistant polycarbonate glass.
The anti-vandal features should leave the camera free to detect
speeders which it does using induction loops in the road, although it
can also operate with radar technology.
There are four
separate high-resolution digital cameras which use infra-red technology
to flash twice so rapidly that even in very busy traffic no incidents
should be missed.
The flashes are also invisible to motorists who won’t know they’ve been snapped until they receive a fine through the post.
Changes to the rules mean speed cameras in the UK no longer have to be
bright yellow, but can be painted to blend in with their surroundings
at the discretion of the local authority.
Source: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk
