on the way!
A new vandal-proof speed camera that is the toughest in the world could be coming to the UK, Auto Express - Britain's biggest selling weekly car magazine - can reveal.
The device towers four-metres above the road and features strengthened glass, a fire-resistant body plus a stiffened steel base. It is also fitted with smoke and vibration sensors which can detect an attack. If someone tries 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.Called IDEE, which stands for Innovative Digital Enforcement Environment, the machine has been created in response to the increasing cases of enraged motorists sabotaging speed traps.
Produced by Dutch firm Peek Traffic, the first models have just gone live in Holland, but they could be coming here soon. Mat Watson, news and features editor at 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. A secrete internal design insulates the important enclosed electronics against extreme heat allowing them to survive most fires unharmed. The IDEE, 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 while the cameras and flash equipment are protected behind impact-resistant polycarbonate glass.
The IDEE's enforcement technology is just as impressive. It uses induction loops in the road to detect speeders - although it can operate with radar technology too - while four separate high-resolution digital cameras monitor four lanes of traffic at once. There are two flashes which fire in quick succession so that even in very busy traffic no incidents are missed. These use infra-red technology which means the IDEE can take front and rear facing images and, unlike the UK's current fixed speed cameras, can patrol both sides of the road simultaneously. And as there's no visible flash motorists 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 now be painted to blend in with their surroundings at the discretion of the local authority.
Source: Auto Express
