Skip to main content

Czech Republic deploying smart traffic lights to combat speeding

Municipalities in the Czech Republic are increasingly deploying smart traffic lights with radar that detects the speed of approaching vehicles and turns the signal red to slow them down to the required speed limit. Currently there are about 100 installations because mayors believe they are more efficient than speed cameras or speed humps. According to one mayor, over 90 per cent of drivers slow down because of the technology. The traffic light system contains a microwave radar sensor which measures speed. I
May 4, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSSMunicipalities in the Czech Republic are increasingly deploying smart traffic lights with radar that detects the speed of approaching vehicles and turns the signal red to slow them down to the required speed limit. Currently there are about 100 installations because mayors believe they are more efficient than speed cameras or speed humps. According to one mayor, over 90 per cent of drivers slow down because of the technology.

The traffic light system contains a microwave radar sensor which measures speed. If an approaching vehicle is travelling at lower than 50km/h, the light changes to orange and then green. If it is higher, the light remains red.

"The speeding driver sees the red and the throttles back. Red lasts until the car has achieved the required speed," explains Radomil Saiml Autron, the company which has supplied Czech municipalities with more than fifty of the new traffic lights.

Europe’s increasing use of this technology, which is widely deployed in Spain and Portugal, was the subject of a recent ITS International feature article - Traffic signals turn red to stop speeding drivers – by David Crawford which is available at this link.

Related Content

  • Robot Smart Camera IV
    February 2, 2012
    Jenoptik Robot has launched the new Robot Smart Camera IV for speed and red light surveillance. This high-resolution digital system operates with a two-lens technology, enabling simultaneous still photos and video recordings, for example. Although compact in size, the device can monitor up to six lanes of traffic. The integrated, intelligent technology allows for immediate and automatic number plate identification which can be matched with a database, for example, for identification of wanted vehicles and s
  • Red, yellow, green - and WHITE?!
    July 19, 2024
    What on earth is ‘white phase’? Ali Hajbabaie from North Carolina State University tells Adam Hill why red, yellow and green lights may soon no longer be enough at traffic lights
  • Jenoptik wins automated speed enforcement deal in Ontario
    November 19, 2024
    Firm will deploy 185 cameras to Canadian municipality by end of summer 2025
  • Clear signs on inspection from EU Road Federation
    December 27, 2024
    Free checklist will help ensure ADAS systems work safely, ERF says