ASSET 5 in 1 speed camera undergoing trials

Wednesday, 03 November 2010 09:13 |

Written by Russell Brown

ASSET 5-in-1 'speed' camera undergoing trials

Due for Eurozone roll-out in 2013 the new camera system will check more than just a vehicle’s speed.

Currently under development in Finland and Germany, the ASSET (Advance Safety & Driver Support for Essential Road Transport. Wouldn’t ASSERT be more appropriate? - Ed) super ‘speed’ camera is capable of catching motorists committing five offences at the same time.

Not only does it measure speed, it can also calculate the distance between vehicles to identify tailgating and can detect if seatbelts are being worn, which presumably means that it can spot if the driver is using a hand-held mobile phone. Numberplate recognition is built in and as it is connected to police computers via GPS it can also check if the tax disc and insurance are up-to-date. Prosecutions can be processed immediately.

AA president Edmund King said: “Tailgating is more dangerous in most cases than speeding so I think most motorists would welcome it. …We will need sophisticated technology to police the roads and there would have to be safeguards. …But it needs to be done as a safety measure, not as a money-making machine.”

Campaign group SpeedCameras.org said the devices should not become a replacement for traditional traffic police officers.“We cautiously welcome a device that can detect several potential motoring offences, but it remains to be seen how accurate it is and how fairly it will be used,” said a spokesperson. “It's a pity that the main actions that cause the most accidents, namely not paying attention to the road, misjudging distances and other drivers' intentions, cannot be detected by a device of any sort. More police patrols and better driver education are the only ways to reduce accidents.”

Funded by £7.1m of European Commission development money, currently this ‘Big Brother’ camera system is mounted on a trailer, but the intention is to downsize it to fit inside police vehicles at £50,000 a pop.