Skip to main content

UK Home Office type approval for Truvelo’s D-CAM

Truvelo UK’s D-CAM digital speed and red light enforcement camera has now gained UK Home Office Type Approval. The camera has been approved for both front and rear photography which, together with choices for the positioning of road markings for secondary speed checks, dramatically increases siting flexibility, as well for as speed on green enforcement. A patented solution which forms a part of the Home Office type approval is the ability to monitor signal phases on newer-generation LED traffic lights.
March 21, 2014 Read time: 3 mins
143 Truvelo UK’s D-CAM digital speed and red light enforcement camera has now gained UK Home Office Type Approval.

The camera has been approved for both front and rear photography which, together with choices for the positioning of road markings for secondary speed checks, dramatically increases siting flexibility, as well for as speed on green enforcement. A patented solution which forms a part of the Home Office type approval is the ability to monitor signal phases on newer-generation LED traffic lights.

Truvelo uses an array of three in-ground piezoelectric sensors to trigger the D-CAM. These maximise system accuracy because the position of both the sensors and the lane markings which provide a secondary speed check is known precisely. They also enable axle-based vehicle classification, which allows the camera to select a lower speed threshold where required, as well as lane identification, which is displayed in the data field of images used as evidence.

The camera operates as a speed camera during amber, green and amber-to-red grace phases, taking a single image. Once the amber grace period has passed, the camera switches to red light enforcement mode and takes two images. The first shows true speed and offending vehicles or motorcycles straddling the stop bar; the second confirms that a red light offence has taken place.

The D-CAM’s approval for both front and rear photography not only allows a single camera to be rotated on its post to monitor two different sensor arrays but also enables live enforcement in two directions at the same time – referred to by Truvelo as simultaneous bi-directional (SBD) enforcement. A fixed camera can be used to carry out front plate captures on vehicles travelling in one direction and rear plate captures on vehicles travelling in the other, with the secondary speed check markings positioned at the same point on the road.

The Truvelo back office server (TBOS) receives encrypted images, stores and writes them to a CD, which is reviewed by the Truvelo Violation Manager (TVM). This creates the vital ‘air gap’ required by the UK Home Office for automated enforcement systems. D-CAM has been designed to be compatible with 127 StarTraq and 1676 Serco back office systems.

“We’ve worked very hard to give the market a highly accurate, digital automated enforcement solution which is both cost effective and cost efficient,” says Peter Hill, Truvelo’s UK Operations Director. “Home Office type approval, which is generally accepted to be the world’s most stringent test, emphasises just how successful we’ve been.

“The D-CAM’s various new features make it a formidable presence in the automated enforcement market. The simultaneous bi-directional capability can result in installations that cost between one and a half and one and a third less than previous-generation two-camera set-ups and the extended secondary speed check coverage is a major bonus when looking to site enforcement cameras at crowded and complex intersections. Our ability to work with LED traffic signals also places us ahead of the field.”

Related Content

  • July 26, 2012
    Technology advances improve enforcement
    Across the board, technology is being brought to bear to improve the efficiency of enforcement. Bus lane monitoring, parking and controlled access have all benefited from systems introduced in recent months. While speed and red light infringements tend to attract the most attention, there remain several other areas of enforcement where automation can bring significant operational and efficiency benefits. Lane monitoring and access control also continue to benefit from technological development.
  • February 1, 2012
    Idris paves the way for loop based speed enforcement
    With the Idris system now validated as a speed verification tool, the way is open for loops to be used in more complex enforcement applications. Diamond Consulting Services (DCS), developer of the Idris inductive loop-based vehicle detection and classification system, has recently successfully conducted validation trials which, the company says, open the way for Idris to be used for speed verification and loop-based sensors to be used for more complex applications such as speed-on-green and differential spe
  • March 29, 2012
    StarTraq business gains in the UK and South Africa
    StarTraq, a UK-headquartered offence management software specialist has extended the automated adjudication software services it currently provides to Suffolk Constabulary in the UK for the uploading and verification of traffic offences captured on camera. With the latest upgrade to the company’s new cloud-based service, Suffolk Police will be in a position to take advantage of improved efficiencies as well as extend the service to their neighbouring constabulary in Norfolk.
  • August 1, 2012
    Simplifying enforcement systems type approval
    Martyn Harriss looks at what we can do to simplify the type approval of enforcement equipment in Europe. I doubt that there are many who can remember the days when policemen hid in the bushes with stopwatches and flags to catch speeding motorists - and I'd suggest that back then there were few who were caught who would have dared question the accuracy of those watches or those who operated them. Probably, fewer still here in Europe could have dreamt that a supranational body such as the European Union (EU)