Smart speed cameras can be used on roads within months

There is a new type of security camera in the city and it doesn’t look at your speed but rather whether you are on the phone and wearing your seat belt. Video / NZ Herald

By Phil Pennington of RNZ

Flash units that take two pictures in different places to determine the average speed of a vehicle can be up and running within months.

Transport agency documents say changes in law could allow them to be used against more offenses, including tailgating and looking inside a car to see drivers using cell phones or not being strapped in.

The OIA papers show that Waka Kotahi has been working on this for a few years now and on a new highway toll system that could also be used for congestion charging.

According to the plans, the point-to-point or average speed cameras could be “a game changer that allows us to manage corridor speeds instead of spot speed”.

They would be three times better than fixed or mobile speed cameras at lowering the toll, according to a business case.

The smart cameras “can be used, for example, to demonstrate that a driver is using a mobile phone or not wearing a seat belt”.

“Camera-based enforcement can be invasive, as images are deliberately taken of the driver and passenger compartment,” the business case said.

An April board document said legislative changes under the Regulatory Stewardship Transport Amendment Bill meant that point-to-point cameras could be used from early 2023, automating the processing of violations and fines delivered to cell phones.

Already 26 of the new cameras are on order to add to the 142 strong network.

The agency calls them “security cameras” in a cabinet-ordered effort “to distract the public from the perception that security cameras are an enforcement tool and collect revenue”.

Medium and high-risk roads will be the target.

A business case for cameras estimates that they could save between 1,500 and 2,400 lives and $1.5 billion in two decades.

The privacy implications are still being worked out with the Privacy Commissioner.

Waka Kotahi declined to specify the total cost of the camera system and the new toll system, saying it was to “protect ministers, members of organizations, officials and employees from undue pressure or intimidation”.

However, just the first phase — choosing the mix of cameras, where to place them, and designing the system — will cost $21.6 million, which is $10 million more than expected, although the documents said it isn’t the only one. entire budget.

The Spanish traffic company SICE (Sociedad Ibérica de Construcciones Eléctricas) won the contract for the cameras and toll collection.

The work is being done quickly, along with a revision of penalties for traffic violations, with the goal of saving 114 lives a year by 2030.

As it stands, relatively few cameras per capita and a lack of advanced cameras, along with very low speeding penalties “significantly undermine the effectiveness of enforcement approaches,” the papers say.

In New Zealand, the speeding fine for exceeding the 1-10 km/h limit in an urban area is $30, compared to $370 in Sweden.

Fines will increase and penalties will most likely be more severe and will be applied to camera violations for the first time.

Authorities view all of this as critical to the Road to Zero strategy, with cameras projected to deliver a 5 percent of the 40 percent reduction in road deaths and serious injuries, which is the strategy’s primary goal.

There are currently 142 speed cameras on the road network, an increase of 30 since 2019. Photo / Alexander Robertson

There are currently 142 speed cameras on the road network: 45 red light cameras, 54 fixed speed cameras and 43 mobile cameras, an increase of 30 since 2019.

Waka Kotahi takes them from the police and adds 2000 traffic management cameras.

It wouldn’t say how many cameras it planned to have.

“ITS and infrastructure will be future-proofed to allow Waka Kotahi to try and use smart cameras” with “built-in intelligent image processing and pattern recognition algorithms” [that] enable these cameras to detect motion, measure objects, read vehicle license plates and recognize human behavior,” according to the camera’s business case.

Police were already testing prototype trailers for point-to-point speed cameras that could be used in roadworks.

The goal with the network of three types of cameras – point-to-point, red light and standard used in both fixed and mobile operations – is to create an “anywhere, anytime” deterrent.

Research shows that the public thinks speeding is much safer than it is: 44 percent of all road deaths in the past decade were due to speed.

Privacy implications

On privacy, the business case says that “the data and digital images captured by cameras, their storage and use all have privacy implications.”

“New problems will arise with new technologies that can be used for other than current security-related purposes, such as medium speed detection and cell phone use.”

The agency expects a small increase in public support for cameras to 2.5 percent as people see the security benefits.

As for tolls, the documents show that the current system, which is used on only three highways, is on its last legs.

“As it stands, the current toll system is a very inefficient way to raise money,” the business case said.

One option was to bring it to a halt, or outsource it completely.

There is an indication that more tolls are being charged: “It is expected that the costs of an outsourced service will increase over time as more roads are charged.”

SICE will supply and manage all back office systems.

The business case makes no mention of congestion charging, but the board paper states that the upgrade is aimed at “future toll roads and to support new capabilities that may be required, e.g. congestion charging”.

.