Not all new technology proves to be an improvement for some drivers.
The increasing use of technology to enforce traffic laws now sees the development of machine vision technology that can record automatically multiple speeders at once even if they are running in traffic. A German company called Victronic is successfully selling PoliScanspeed, a new laser technology that can measure the speed of multiple vehicles in several lanes and document it with photographs, providing digital evidence to law enforcement agencies.
The PoliScanspeed system recently nailed two Mad-Max like speeders in Australia who were running side-by-side. They were caught on camera driving at 195 kpm (121 mph) and 207 kph (129 mph) in a 90 kph (56 mph) zone.
Victronic claims a case such as this would have been dismissed if conventional technology had been used, since conventional laser speed measurement cannot distinguish the measured values of two vehicles driving next to each other. However, the PoliScanspeed speed measuring system can clearly allocate measured data to vehicles that are driving closely behind each other or next to each other.
One of the two speeders pleaded guilty at the beginning of the trial. The second driver initially claimed that only the other one had been speeding and wanted to challenge the charges. In the end, an expert report ordered by the police, eventually, convinced the defense that further arguments were futile. The drivers were sentenced to fines of 750 and 1200 Australian dollars, and their licenses suspended for six and 15 months.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
