Skip to main content

Swarco installs 34 VAS signs to calm speeding in Brent

Swarco Traffic has installed 34 vehicle-activated signs (VAS) at key locations in the UK borough of Brent to support its council in reducing collisions, road danger and accidents that involve powered two-wheelers (P2Ws) such as motorcycles and mopeds. Motorcycles account for 19% of all road user deaths despite representing 1% of total road traffic, according to the National Think Road Safety Campaign. VAS are activated when an approaching vehicle is travelling over the system’s pre-set threshold.
June 26, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

129 Swarco Traffic has installed 34 vehicle-activated signs (VAS) at key locations in the UK borough of Brent to support its council in reducing collisions, road danger and accidents that involve powered two-wheelers (P2Ws) such as motorcycles and mopeds. Motorcycles account for 19% of all road user deaths despite representing 1% of total road traffic, according to the National Think Road Safety Campaign.

VAS are activated when an approaching vehicle is travelling over the system’s pre-set threshold. They display the speed with either an instruction to slow down or a sad face in red. A happy face or thank you is shown in green for drivers travelling within the speed limits.

Most of the VAS are fixed to existing light columns while some are solar powered. The signs are Conformité Européene (CE)-marked for quality and safety and are built with the latest Swarco LEDs, which are said to provide optical output for increased reliability as well as reduced power consumption.

Chhaganlal J Dabhi, project engineer for Brent Council’s Highways and Infrastructure Service, said: “One of the most common causes of accidents involving P2Ws is high speeds. And high speeds can cause severe injuries and fatalities, particularly for a motorbike rider who is the most exposed and vulnerable. However, we also know that one of the most effective measures to reduce accidents can be to inform all road users of the hazards and prevailing dangers, and advise them accordingly.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Traffex snapshot reveals enforcement advances
    July 24, 2017
    An indication of just how far beyond spot speed and red light the enforcement sector has progressed was evident in the range of new and improved equipment on display at the recent Traffex event in Birmingham. One of the key trends, particularly in the UK but also evident elsewhere, is the increase in average speed enforcement, according to RedSpeed’s managing director Robert Ryan, who predicts a big increase in installations this year. “The price point has reached a level authorities can afford,” he says, a
  • London needs just one road user charge, says report
    July 8, 2019
    London’s patchwork of road charging schemes should be replaced by a single, distance-based user charge, according to new research. Apart from anything else, it would be much fairer… The UK capital’s multiple road charging schemes require a radical overhaul, according to a new report by the Centre for London thinktank. The suggested solution is to replace existing levies on drivers with a single, distance-based user charge which would more fairly reflect how much, and at what time, people are using London
  • National Safety Council estimates traffic deaths down three percent in 2013
    February 13, 2014
    The US National Safety Council announced today its preliminary estimate that approximately 35,200 motor vehicle fatalities occurred in the US in 2013, a three percent decrease from 2012. Crash injuries requiring medical attention also are estimated to have fallen by two percent since 2012 to a total of 3.8 million. Although 2013 traffic fatalities are three percent lower than 2012, they are one percent higher than 2011. The relatively high number of fatalities in 2012 appears to have been a one year bum
  • Stepping up the fight against road deaths
    October 23, 2015
    The International Transport Forum (ITF) has welcomed the target to “halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents by 2020” set by world leaders in September at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York. Every year, almost 1.3 million people are killed in road crashes around the globe, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).