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

  • Dynamic lane closures cuts time, cost and congestion on Motorway roadworks
    March 17, 2014
    A combination of technologies is leading to major congestion and cost reductions during roadworks on the UK’s motorway network. Innovative construction programme scheduling technology and the deployment of moveable barriers has achieved substantial savings of money and time on UK motorway roadworks managed by the Highways Agency (HA). This combination has set the scene for a new generation of road usage analysis tools. The HA’s objective was to reduce the congestion caused by lane closures during roa
  • Europe’s road safety gains have stagnated EU
    March 17, 2017
    Europe will fail to meet its road death targets as enforcement budgets are slashed and drivers face an epidemic of distractions. The European Union will not achieve its aim of halving the number of people killed on its roads each year by 2020, delegates to Tispol’s (the organisation of European traffic police) annual conference in Manchester were told. “The target will be missed because there was only a 17% decrease in road fatalities across Europe between 2010 and 2015 when [the rate of reduction] should h
  • Navya showcases Autonom cab in Paris
    November 10, 2017
    Navya has unveiled its Autonom Cab (AC) in Paris to address challenges urban populations face when travelling in and around cities. The cab, designed to be completely autonomous, comes without a cockpit, steering wheel or pedals and can carry up to six passengers. It is capable of speeds up to 90km/h, but will average towards 50km/h to conform with local speed limits. The Navya app enables users to order an AC and open and close the vehicle’s doors to start it up. The cab is also capable of pre-empting
  • Telvent solution to be deployed in Oran, Algeria
    January 31, 2012
    Isolux-Corsan has awarded Telvent a contract to implement its SmartMobility Light Rail solution for a new light rail system in the Algerian city of Oran. Comprising 32 stations along its 18-kilometre route, the new light rail system is scheduled to begin operating by 2011.