Skip to main content

Hampshire Constabulary opts for Truvelo speed enforcement

The UK’s Hampshire Constabulary’s Safer Roads Unit has recently introduced new mobile speed enforcement technology to combat excessive speeds on the county’s roads. The LASERwitness Lite from Truvelo comprises laser speed measurement and digital video technology, combined with built in infra-red illumination for night time operation. The unit is extremely compact and can even be deployed from a police motorcycle if desired. This is beneficial in those locations where there is no suitable parking for a spe
March 8, 2013 Read time: 3 mins
The UK’s Hampshire Constabulary’s Safer Roads Unit has recently introduced new mobile speed enforcement technology to combat excessive speeds on the county’s roads.

The LASERwitness Lite from 143 Truvelo comprises laser speed measurement and digital video technology, combined with built in infra-red illumination for night time operation.  The unit is extremely compact and can even be deployed from a police motorcycle if desired.  This is beneficial in those locations where there is no suitable parking for a speed enforcement van.

The camera records digital video at ten frames per second onto a low-cost SD card; a 4 GB card will store up to 8000 offences.  Each offence will typically generate fifty or sixty frames to give a full tracking history of the offending vehicle’s movement from the time the camera was triggered to the time the recording was completed.  In order to select a batch of relevant frames the associated SD Exporter Pro software will automatically select four images based on pre-set criteria such as first frame recorded, fastest speed recorded or closest image to the camera.  This integrates seamlessly with the force’s existing back-office offence processing system.

Simon Gomer, head of the Safer Roads Unit says “We were particularly attracted to this technology because of its ability to operate in low light/night time conditions, and to
increase our ability to capture offenders during hours of darkness.  This technology has not been available in the market place before and will assist us in our continued drive to reduce killed and seriously injured casualties on our roads.  The addition of infrared technology means that we can extend our enforcement sessions to include winter-time morning and evening rush hour periods.  So far the results are excellent and fully bear out our experience from the trials we did”.

According to Truvelo, unlike other mobile equipment, the LASERwitness Lite also has the ability to set three speed thresholds so that the camera operator can quickly select the appropriate speed setting for different classes of vehicle, e.g. car, light truck, heavy truck, or car towing a caravan.  If a non-speeding offence is spotted then the camera can be manually used to make a recording.  For example failing to wear a seat belt, using a mobile phone or crossing double white lines are classed as other offences and the video is marked such that these can be automatically sorted into another folder.

Calvin Hutt, Truvelo’s Sales Manager comments: “I am delighted that Hampshire has  chosen the LASERwitness. Its combination of low light capability, three speed thresholds and highly efficient support software create a winning combination.

Related Content

  • February 1, 2012
    Automatic speed enforcement in Finland
    In 2004, Finland extended its automatic speed enforcement from 280 to 800 road kilometres. Risto Öörni of the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, explains the costs and the benefits. Automatic speed enforcement in Finland is operated by the police and is based on cameras installed on poles along main roads and mobile semi-automatic speed enforcement units installed in police cars.
  • October 7, 2015
    Efkon displays N-Force Tower toll enforcement system
    Efkon is using ITS World Congress 2015 to highlight its innovative and reliable enforcement solutions, and will also present the company’s N-Force Tower, a stand-alone toll enforcement system placed beside the road, designed to enforce and monitor the user behaviour of toll-obligated vehicles in a single-lane environment. The system detects and classifies all passing vehicles’ toll obligation compliance and provides corresponding vehicle information.
  • September 30, 2020
    Parifex speed cameras: picture perfect
    From speed cameras to smart cities, image processing and AI – Parifex is not short of ambition. Nathalie Deguen tells Adam Hill where the French company is heading next
  • December 6, 2017
    Vision technology lifts blinkers from tunnel vision
    Sony’s Jerome Avenel looks at how advances in imaging technology are helping improve safety. On the 24th March 1999, a Belgian truck transporting flour and margarine through the 11.6km Mont Blanc tunnel caught alight when a cigarette stub entered the engine induction snorkel, lighting the paper air filter. The fire left over 30 dead and many more injured. At the time, the Mont Blanc tunnel disaster was the world’s worst tunnel fire.