Skip to main content

New digital CCTV system to monitor traffic flow in Aberdeen

A new US$386,000 (£300,000) network of digital CCTV and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras, including automated alert systems, are being installed on key routes around Aberdeen, Scotland to monitor traffic flow and journey times.
May 31, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
A new US$386,000 (£300,000) network of digital CCTV and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras, including automated alert systems, are being installed on key routes around Aberdeen, Scotland to monitor traffic 8243 flow and journey times.


The City Council’s traffic control centre will use the information gathered to respond in real time to incidents, reducing the impact of delay to road users particularly at key locations beside the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR).

Installed by Video Watchman Systems, the system will comprise of cameras and communications, linked to a central monitoring and control system at the traffic control centre.

The camera system will provide extensive coverage of all the key routes to quickly identify congestion and allow traffic control centre operators to implement remedial measures. This could include changing traffic signal timings, issuing traffic information on electronic messaging signs, traffic bulletins to media outlets and information on travel web pages. There is the potential to divert traffic on some heavily congested routes onto less congested routes.

The 16 new CCTV cameras are located at the optimum sites on the road network for monitoring traffic conditions, primarily at the busiest junctions or junctions with the greatest visibility of the corridor and at points where incidents would have the greatest impact on traffic 8243 flow.

In addition to these CCTV cameras for traffic network monitoring, ACC also intends to install ANPR cameras on key traffic routes in and around Aberdeen for journey time monitoring. The journey time information will be used to alert operators when and where journeys are being delayed, which could indicate incidences on the roads network such as a vehicle collision, breakdown or general congestion.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Traffic enforcement driving ANPR growth: report
    February 10, 2015
    According to a new market report published by Transparency Market Research, Automatic Number Plate Recognition Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2014 - 2020, the automatic number plate recognition market globally is forecast to reach US$1,023.2 million by 2020. The key factors driving the growth of this market include increased adoption in traffic enforcement and surveillance applications and increasing trend of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) integrati
  • Researchers helping to reduce New Zealand’s congestion
    April 7, 2015
    Researchers at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand claim the impact of congestion in the country’s major cities could soon be greatly reduced. They are exploring how the movement of vehicles on New Zealand’s city roads can be more efficiently managed after accidents and breakdowns. University of Canterbury transport engineer Professor Alan Nicholson says their research shows drivers tend to divert off the motorway in large numbers only after a slow queue becomes visible. Along with Dr Glen Koorey and
  • Smarter transport remains key to smart cities
    January 9, 2018
    Colin Sowman looks at some of the challenges and solutions that will provide enhanced transport efficiency in tomorrow’s smarter cities. However you define a ‘smart city’, one of the key ingredients will be an efficient transport system. As most governments and city authorities face financial constraints, incremental improvements in the existing systems is the most likely way forward. In London, new trains and signalling are improving the capacity of the Underground but that then reveals previously
  • Investment boost for Canada’s weather warning systems
    August 5, 2013
    David Crawford reviews national and regional initiatives to boost Canada’s weather forecasting. Over the next five years Canada’s national weather services are due to benefit from a CAN$248 million injection of funding into the Environment Canada (EC) department to deliver timelier and more accurate weather warnings and forecasts for users including travellers and transport operators. The scheme, set out in the country’s 2013 Economic Action Plan, is to revitalise the services with new investments in federa