Siemens Mobility Limited has received UK Home Office Type Approval (HOTA) for the latest evolution of its SafeZone average speed enforcement system meaning evidence is fully admissible in court for road traffic offences.
Based on automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology, SafeZone incorporates the company’s latest Sicore II camera to provide accurate and effective speed enforcement. Manufactured by Siemens Mobility in the UK and proven in applications worldwide, Sicore II uses the latest HD camera sensors designed specifically for the traffic environment. It provides unrivalled results and evidentially secure identification in all conditions, 24 hours a day, at vehicle speeds of up to 300kph (186mph).
The certification covers a number of new SafeZone features, including day/night mode functionality, which for many schemes will enable the camera to operate without the need for intrusive, additional lighting to be installed.
“The new standards associated with Home Office approval are high; testing is rigorous and demanding,” says Wilke Reints, MD of Siemens Mobility’s Intelligent Traffic Systems business in the UK. “This is really important if traffic offences are to be pursued. With this latest evolution of SafeZone, we have an average speed enforcement solution that leads the market in terms of security, image quality, capture rates and system performance.”
SafeZone is at the heart of two projects that Siemens Mobility commissioned with WJ Group in October 2020, the two companies having formed a partnership to deliver temporary automatic speed camera at road works (TASCAR) systems. The first, for Avon and Somerset Police, was installed at Junction 23 of the M5 in Somerset. The second installation was for Hampshire Police on the A27 in Hampshire.
As well as supplying the scheme infrastructure, Siemens Mobility also supported WJ with the installation work, site validations and baselining to establish the distance between each camera.
With advanced image control and dual layer optical character recognition capabilities to provide greater accuracy, Sicore II is perfectly suited to an automated TASCAR enforcement solution. Sudden changes in scene brightness, sun blinding and variation in license plate brightness and contrast are addressed by the camera’s algorithms to ensure HOTA approved, industry-leading image quality and number plate read accuracy.
Wilke Reints concludes: “Our experienced teams have worked extremely closely to provide the installation, set up, validation and maintenance for each project. We look forward to collaboratively delivering many more such schemes with WJ over the coming months across the UK’s road network.”
