Siemens SafeZone delivers safer roads in Sussex, UK
Two SafeZone average speed schemes installed by Siemens in Brighton and Hastings in 2017 have received high acclaim from Sussex Safer Roads Partnership following the first six months of operation. Both schemes are recording almost 100% speed compliance.
“Not only are both schemes reporting very high levels of speed compliance and road safety but we have received no complaints from local residents” states Mark Trimmer, Operations Manager for the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership.
“Using a collection of cameras along Brighton seafront on Marine Parade and a further set of average speed detection cameras on the A259 Grosvenor Crescent in Hastings, compliance levels have reached 98.8% which is exceptional. The schemes also use a combination of visible and invisible (Infra Red) lighting which is more sensitive to the effects on local residents and the environment. It’s the first time such schemes have been installed in the County”, he said.
Completed in July 2017, the cameras have been deployed to improve road safety and reduce the speed vehicles travel along the seafront at Brighton, in order to reduce the risk of a serious collision whilst providing a safe environment for local residents and visitors to one of the county’s most popular visitor destinations.
The seafront at Hastings is susceptible to people speeding and overtaking at all hours of the day. The road is a main thoroughfare to the other side of the county and has to contend with the large number of visitors. Average speed cameras are helping to maintain a safe environment along one of the busiest roads in Hastings.
Commenting on the two schemes, Mark Trimmer said: “Throughout the whole process from design to installation and handover, the project management and engineering support was exceptional with the project manager at Siemens worthy of particular praise. He ensured excellent management of the two schemes and the whole team demonstrated a positive attitude to finding effective and practical solutions which has resulted in schemes which have considered and minimised the impact on local residents, whilst still achieving the aim of speed compliance and collision reduction.”
“The project team at Siemens also anticipated that there may be complaints from local residents about the use of white lights close to their properties so the initial scheme was changed to include infra-red lighting solutions in these areas in combination with the cameras. Since installation of the schemes, there have been no complaints from any residents about the placing of the cameras and supplementary lighting”, Mark concluded.
Home Office approved and fully integrated to the back-office penalty notice processing facility run by Sussex Safer Roads Partnership, Siemens SafeZone is an average speed enforcement system based on industry-leading Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology and the company’s first generation camera Sicore which utilises Siemens own vision engine based on over 30 years optical recognition technology.
By identifying all vehicles as they enter the enforcement zones, SafeZone calculates average speed over a measured distance travelled within the zone, ensuring high compliance to the speed limits and safer traffic flow. Evidential records are only created for vehicles that exceed the speed limit and are sent remotely to the back-office in-station for processing through a fixed communications network.
Building on the success of Sicore, all new ANPR deployments will benefit from Sicore II, Siemens’ next generation ANPR camera. Highly flexible and supporting many countries of the world, this new camera delivers high quality, evidentially secure images. Whether used for average speed control, low emission zones or access control, the camera delivers reliable results in all conditions.
Reliable and rapid identification of vehicles by ANPR is a critical element in any average speed control, enforcement or low emission zone environment. Sicore II uses the latest camera sensors to give impressive evidentially secure identification in all conditions for traffic enforcement, low emission zone management, tolling or access control. Three lane coverage of up to 9.5m with a single camera allows the processing of up to 2500 fast-moving vehicles per lane per hour lane. Which means that fewer cameras are needed and, even in high occupancy situations on fast flowing roads, Sicore II never misses a vehicle.
Siemens was established in the United Kingdom more than 170 years ago and now employs 15,000 people in the UK. As the world’s largest engineering company, Siemens provides innovative solutions to help tackle the world’s major challenges. Siemens has offices and factories throughout the UK, with its headquarters in Frimley, Surrey
