SWARCO colour signs are fully programmable
London and Scotland are using VMS and digital cameras to successfully lower road deaths.
Road safety measures such as variable message signs (VMS) and digital cameras have boosted road safety in the UK capital London and also in the Scottish Highlands. And the systems need not be a drain on electricity supplies.
Full matrix driver information signs from337 SWARCO Traffic, one of the UK’s leading traffic management technology providers, are being installed for the first time across the 2387 Transport for London (TfL) strategic route network.
The colour signs, which are fully programmable, deliver exceptional levels of clarity, energy efficiency and life expectancy. They have been integrated with TfL’s proprietary controls, making them compatible with TfL’s London Driver Information System (LDIS). They also use the existing radio communications network.
SWARCO is working with TfL’s Traffic Control Management Service (TCMS) contractors to help upgrade and modernise the capital’s roadside infrastructure. The first batch of seven signs has been installed on several major routes, including the A40 Westway and the A406 Hangar Lane gyratory in north-west London. A similar number are in the pipeline for installation in the coming months.
Jeremy Cowling, managing director of SWARCO Traffic, said that the new generation signs have full integration capabilities. “Having the ability to easily integrate with TfL’s existing or proprietary software means that where and how the signs are used and installed is virtually limitless,” he said “It also protects their legacy investment.”
SWARCO Traffic’s full colour RGB matrix signs feature significantly reduced power consumption for longer-life operation and further improved reliability. The new generation signs require as little as 20% of the power that traditional technologies use, but without sacrificing performance. Less power means that the service life of all electrical and electronic components is extended and that the LEDs do not suffer from a decrease in light intensity or colour change throughout their life cycle.
SWARCO’s Full Colour Full Matrix VMS have now been chosen by over 20 Local Authorities in the UK, as well as a growing number of private site operators.
Meanwhile, London’s Borough of Richmond upon Thames is introducing unattended camera enforcement at eight locations across the borough for a range of moving traffic offences including restricted access, banned turning and bus lane contraventions.
This will enable the council to achieve significant efficiency and productivity improvements using the existing Videalert Digital Video Platform without requiring additional major investment. Videalert is a UK-based supplier of intelligent traffic enforcement and management solutions.
According to Jim Marshall, head of parking services at the borough, the Videalert system has proved to be exceptionally reliable since it was installed two years ago. “It has also allowed us to maximise investment in our existing infrastructure,” he said. “Switching to unattended operations will enable us to increase the hours of enforcement without the associated additional staffing costs.”
The Videalert system was selected because it supports attended, unattended and mobile CCTV enforcement and offers high levels of future-proofing using static, redeployable and mobile CCTV technologies. It also enables multiple civil traffic enforcement, traffic management, community safety and crime prevention applications to run simultaneously from a single CCTV infrastructure without requiring specific equipment for every point solution.
“Videalert’s unattended enforcement solution will deliver significant cost and efficiency savings by eliminating the need for staff to monitor CCTV cameras. It also allows us to overcome the restricted working hours and shift patterns that traditionally have limited the overall effectiveness of enforcing moving traffic contraventions,” concluded Marshall.
The platform will enable the borough to maximise productivity and minimise manpower in the evidence review process by automating manual workflows with a quick and easy three-click process to review evidence packs and produce PCNs – penalty charge notices.
“The government’s recent Deregulation Bill is forcing local authorities to look at new technologies that mitigate reduced income from parking fines and allow them to operate more efficiently at a lower cost,” said Tim Daniels, marketing director of Videalert.
“The latest generation of digital video platforms seamlessly integrates with existing CCTV infrastructures and allows councils to progressively migrate from analogue to digital camera environments without the need for significant capital investment.”
Videalert products combine video analytics with ANPR and offer deployment options including wired LAN, Wi-Fi LAN, 3G/4G-WAN, mobile, attended and unattended operation. The also support all analogue and ONVIF compliant digital megapixel cameras.
Further north, in Scotland, the introduction of average speed camera technology to a busy stretch of road with a poor record for crashes has boosted safety. That is the finding following a report into the installation of the average speed camera network along Scotland’s busy A9.
The road has long been a notorious route in the UK, a busy route connecting Inverness in the north of the country with the more highly populated southern region. The road can be treacherous in winter, with snow causing blockages and closures at its highest point. There is also a severe risk of black ice.
Risks are increased because the A9 carries a high percentage of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) shuttling goods back and forward along its length, as well as a higher than average percentage of tourist traffic in summer months.
Part of the problem has been that the slow moving HGVs have caused traffic hold-ups along the sections that are not dualled. This has led to risky overtaking manoeuvres and a depressingly frequent incidence of head-on crashes.
Similarly, tourists may not be used to driving on the left side of the road, or for that matter comfortable driving a rented vehicle with a manual transmission. The result is a greater risk of dangerous overtakes.
Increasing the speed limit for HGVs has been one factor in cutting crashes, so that such overtakes are fewer. But of more importance still is that the average speed cameras have caused drivers to take greater care.
New data from4068 Transport Scotland shows that the A9 is safer. Crash and casualty rates on the A9 fell dramatically in the first year of operation of the new average speed cameras, according to Transport Scotland’s analysis.
The data published shows that from the beginning of November 2014 to October 2015, two fewer people have been killed and 16 fewer people have been seriously injured between the cities of Dunblane and Inverness.
The number of fatal and serious crashes between Dunblane and Inverness is down by almost 59%, with fatal and serious casualties down by around 64%. No one was killed or seriously injured between Dunblane and Perth, while the number of fatal and serious accidents between Perth and Inverness is down by almost 45%, with fatal and serious casualties down by almost 58%.
More recent figures confirm that the downwards trend is continuing with no fatal accidents on the A9 in the second half of last year.
“For the first time since parts of the A9 were upgraded in the 1970s, there were no fatal accidents anywhere on the route from July to December,” said Scotland’s transport minister Derek Mackay.
“These improvements are taking place with rising traffic volumes and the continuing use of this nationally important route to support the economy of the Highlands and Islands.
Fatal and serious casualties have more than halved and there are clear and substantial reductions in fatal casualties both between Perth and Inverness and between Perth and Dunblane.
“It is apparent the safety cameras have contributed towards changing driver behaviour, particularly in respect of complying with speed limits,” said Police Scotland’s chief superintendent Andy Edmonston.
“Since the cameras were introduced, just over 6,000 vehicles have been detected travelling at excessive speed and subject to enforcement action. To put some perspective on this figure, during the same period there were over 18 million vehicle movements along the route.”
The A9 Safety Group, which monitors traffic, accidents and driving habits and conditions along the A9 trunk road, picked up the John Smart Road Safety Award from the CIHT - Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation, late last year.
A9 Safety won the award for a range of interventions along more than 200km of carriageway, including the implementation of 50 SPECS3 cameras from manufacturer3957 Vysionics.
Road safety measures such as variable message signs (VMS) and digital cameras have boosted road safety in the UK capital London and also in the Scottish Highlands. And the systems need not be a drain on electricity supplies.
Full matrix driver information signs from
The colour signs, which are fully programmable, deliver exceptional levels of clarity, energy efficiency and life expectancy. They have been integrated with TfL’s proprietary controls, making them compatible with TfL’s London Driver Information System (LDIS). They also use the existing radio communications network.
SWARCO is working with TfL’s Traffic Control Management Service (TCMS) contractors to help upgrade and modernise the capital’s roadside infrastructure. The first batch of seven signs has been installed on several major routes, including the A40 Westway and the A406 Hangar Lane gyratory in north-west London. A similar number are in the pipeline for installation in the coming months.
Jeremy Cowling, managing director of SWARCO Traffic, said that the new generation signs have full integration capabilities. “Having the ability to easily integrate with TfL’s existing or proprietary software means that where and how the signs are used and installed is virtually limitless,” he said “It also protects their legacy investment.”
SWARCO Traffic’s full colour RGB matrix signs feature significantly reduced power consumption for longer-life operation and further improved reliability. The new generation signs require as little as 20% of the power that traditional technologies use, but without sacrificing performance. Less power means that the service life of all electrical and electronic components is extended and that the LEDs do not suffer from a decrease in light intensity or colour change throughout their life cycle.
SWARCO’s Full Colour Full Matrix VMS have now been chosen by over 20 Local Authorities in the UK, as well as a growing number of private site operators.
Meanwhile, London’s Borough of Richmond upon Thames is introducing unattended camera enforcement at eight locations across the borough for a range of moving traffic offences including restricted access, banned turning and bus lane contraventions.
This will enable the council to achieve significant efficiency and productivity improvements using the existing Videalert Digital Video Platform without requiring additional major investment. Videalert is a UK-based supplier of intelligent traffic enforcement and management solutions.
According to Jim Marshall, head of parking services at the borough, the Videalert system has proved to be exceptionally reliable since it was installed two years ago. “It has also allowed us to maximise investment in our existing infrastructure,” he said. “Switching to unattended operations will enable us to increase the hours of enforcement without the associated additional staffing costs.”
The Videalert system was selected because it supports attended, unattended and mobile CCTV enforcement and offers high levels of future-proofing using static, redeployable and mobile CCTV technologies. It also enables multiple civil traffic enforcement, traffic management, community safety and crime prevention applications to run simultaneously from a single CCTV infrastructure without requiring specific equipment for every point solution.
“Videalert’s unattended enforcement solution will deliver significant cost and efficiency savings by eliminating the need for staff to monitor CCTV cameras. It also allows us to overcome the restricted working hours and shift patterns that traditionally have limited the overall effectiveness of enforcing moving traffic contraventions,” concluded Marshall.
The platform will enable the borough to maximise productivity and minimise manpower in the evidence review process by automating manual workflows with a quick and easy three-click process to review evidence packs and produce PCNs – penalty charge notices.
“The government’s recent Deregulation Bill is forcing local authorities to look at new technologies that mitigate reduced income from parking fines and allow them to operate more efficiently at a lower cost,” said Tim Daniels, marketing director of Videalert.
“The latest generation of digital video platforms seamlessly integrates with existing CCTV infrastructures and allows councils to progressively migrate from analogue to digital camera environments without the need for significant capital investment.”
Videalert products combine video analytics with ANPR and offer deployment options including wired LAN, Wi-Fi LAN, 3G/4G-WAN, mobile, attended and unattended operation. The also support all analogue and ONVIF compliant digital megapixel cameras.
Further north, in Scotland, the introduction of average speed camera technology to a busy stretch of road with a poor record for crashes has boosted safety. That is the finding following a report into the installation of the average speed camera network along Scotland’s busy A9.
The road has long been a notorious route in the UK, a busy route connecting Inverness in the north of the country with the more highly populated southern region. The road can be treacherous in winter, with snow causing blockages and closures at its highest point. There is also a severe risk of black ice.
Risks are increased because the A9 carries a high percentage of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) shuttling goods back and forward along its length, as well as a higher than average percentage of tourist traffic in summer months.
Part of the problem has been that the slow moving HGVs have caused traffic hold-ups along the sections that are not dualled. This has led to risky overtaking manoeuvres and a depressingly frequent incidence of head-on crashes.
Similarly, tourists may not be used to driving on the left side of the road, or for that matter comfortable driving a rented vehicle with a manual transmission. The result is a greater risk of dangerous overtakes.
Increasing the speed limit for HGVs has been one factor in cutting crashes, so that such overtakes are fewer. But of more importance still is that the average speed cameras have caused drivers to take greater care.
New data from
The data published shows that from the beginning of November 2014 to October 2015, two fewer people have been killed and 16 fewer people have been seriously injured between the cities of Dunblane and Inverness.
The number of fatal and serious crashes between Dunblane and Inverness is down by almost 59%, with fatal and serious casualties down by around 64%. No one was killed or seriously injured between Dunblane and Perth, while the number of fatal and serious accidents between Perth and Inverness is down by almost 45%, with fatal and serious casualties down by almost 58%.
More recent figures confirm that the downwards trend is continuing with no fatal accidents on the A9 in the second half of last year.
“For the first time since parts of the A9 were upgraded in the 1970s, there were no fatal accidents anywhere on the route from July to December,” said Scotland’s transport minister Derek Mackay.
“These improvements are taking place with rising traffic volumes and the continuing use of this nationally important route to support the economy of the Highlands and Islands.
Fatal and serious casualties have more than halved and there are clear and substantial reductions in fatal casualties both between Perth and Inverness and between Perth and Dunblane.
“It is apparent the safety cameras have contributed towards changing driver behaviour, particularly in respect of complying with speed limits,” said Police Scotland’s chief superintendent Andy Edmonston.
“Since the cameras were introduced, just over 6,000 vehicles have been detected travelling at excessive speed and subject to enforcement action. To put some perspective on this figure, during the same period there were over 18 million vehicle movements along the route.”
The A9 Safety Group, which monitors traffic, accidents and driving habits and conditions along the A9 trunk road, picked up the John Smart Road Safety Award from the CIHT - Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation, late last year.
A9 Safety won the award for a range of interventions along more than 200km of carriageway, including the implementation of 50 SPECS3 cameras from manufacturer
