The local authority in the Neath Port Talbot region of south Wales have deployed a new mobile enforcement vehicle (MEV) to help improve road safety by reducing the number of moving traffic and parking violations, particularly those near the area’s schools.
The new MEV has been supplied by Videalert, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of intelligent traffic enforcement and management systems, which was awarded the contract after due procurement process. The MEV is equipped with two roof-mounted automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) cameras and two full-color cameras to capture contextual video evidence of vehicles whose drivers have chosen to contravene traffic orders across the County. The on-board systems are controlled by one of the Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council’s Civil Enforcement Officers using a dashboard-mounted touchscreen.
All contravention evidence data is transferred to Videalert’s digital video platform (DVP) in the parking office at the end of each shift. The Videalert system automates the construction of video evidence packs which are reviewed by trained council operatives prior to sending confirmed offences to the back-office processing system for the issuance of penalty charge notices (PCNs) to the registered keepers of vehicles. The platform supports the widest range of traffic management and enforcement applications, as well as clean air and low emission zones using the same infrastructure.
As part of an ongoing campaign, the council’s road safety team carried out a county-wide School Gate Parking campaign in partnership with South Wales Police and the Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service. This included banners to be displayed outside all schools to raise awareness as well as delivering education to all pupils, encouraging them to be a positive influence on those taking them to school. However, it was determined that enforcement for persistent drivers was the most effective way to tackle this growing issue.
“Indiscriminate and dangerous parking around Neath Port Talbot will no longer be tolerated,” explained Rob Jones, leader of Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council. “The newly purchased mobile enforcement vehicle seeks to challenge those drivers who choose to park on school keep clear markings, within clearly defined bus stops, and on pedestrian crossings, with no thought for the safety of others. It is hoped that this vehicle will help to further ensure greater safety and protection for pedestrians and other road users as we progress through 2019.”
Tim Daniels, sales and marketing director at Videalert, commented, “This new generation of multi-purpose mobile enforcement vehicles gives Councils greater flexibility in the way that they can deal with a wide range of moving traffic and parking contraventions. In recent benchmarking trials, our MEVs equipped with four cameras have proved to deliver industry-leading capture rates and consistently outperform vehicles from other suppliers.”
