Following a recent announcement that the UK has been issued with an official warning by the European Union (EU) regarding rising air pollution levels, Videalert, one of the country’s leading suppliers of traffic enforcement and management technologies, will be announcing the first of a new generation of Clean Air Zone (CAZ) and Low Emission Zone (LEZ) enforcement systems at Parkex 2017.
Hosted by the British Parking Association (BPA), the annual Parkex event is Europe’s largest dedicated parking exhibition, and is taking place at the NEC in Birmingham between April 4-6, alongside the Traffex show for the road, traffic and transportation industry. The Videalert product launch will take on particular significance following the EU report that showed the UK’s nitrogen dioxide limits were repeatedly exceeded in 16 areas, including the cities of London, Birmingham, Leeds and Glasgow. Last week, London’s Mayor, Sadiq Khan, confirmed that the UK capital will be introducing the toughest vehicle emission standard of any world city in the autumn, with his £10 (US$12.42) ‘Toxic Charge’ (T-Charge) due to start on October 23. The city is also set to introduce the world’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) as early as 2019.
Videalert’s launch is also likely to be of particular interest to the five UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs-nominated cities where CAZs will be created by 2020, providing cost-effective enforcement to reduce pollution from toxic gases, including nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which is estimated to cause the premature deaths of 40,000-50,000 people each year. Videalert will show how its hosted platform automates the management and enforcement of CAZ and LEZ contraventions. With real-time identification of the vehicle type, including make, model, color, gross weight, engine type, and CO? emission band, the system can determine whether an offense has been committed and/or whether the correct tariff has been paid for entry into the restricted zone. The system also provides real-time intelligence to determine the extent of contraventions in any target location.
“Pollution-related illnesses and deaths resulting from traffic on our roads is a massive issue for governments around the world, explained Tim Daniels, sales and marketing director at Videalert. “While London, Birmingham, Derby, Leeds, Nottingham and Southampton now have the powers to begin tackling this issue, hundreds of other town and cities across the UK are in breach of their EU emission targets. Enforcing these zones further extends the capability of our hosted Digital Video Platform, which supports multiple civil traffic enforcement, traffic management, crime prevention and community safety applications simultaneously, enabling councils to deliver more with less.”
