2004-05-12 15:56 The Hong Kong Police (HKP) and Transport Department (TD) will launch two digital traffic enforcement camera systems on May 17 with a view to enhancing road safety, a Police spokesman said today (May 12). They are the Speed Enforcement Digital Camera System (SEC) and the Red Light Digital Camera System (RLC) which were procured through a road safety project initiated by TD at a respective contract sum of $11.9 million and $12.7 million. The SEC comprises eight digital cameras to be deployed in rotation at 75 selected sites distributed along the expressways and strategic routes, while 12 digital cameras for the RLC will be mounted on a rotational basis on 60 enforcement sites at selected road junctions throughout the terrority. "All selected enforcement sites have been identified by HKP and TD to be either potential accident black spots or locations with high red light jumping/speeding activities," he said. "Some of the camera housings posts of these systems are painted in orange as a trial scheme to enhance the deterrent effect of a more overt warning," he added. Both systems operate with a portable digital camera unit mounting inside camera housing installed at the designated enforcement sites. Unlike the conventional enforcement devices such as laser gun and radar which require manual operation, the camera unit will capture images of the offending vehicles automatically. Digital images captured will then be stored in an encrypted format for subsequent processing by the back-end central computer unit. A specially designed computer programme has been developed by the Force to automate most of the enquiry and prosecution process which were handled manually in the past. "Red-light jumping and speeding are dangerous driving behaviours that have contributed to the occurrence and severity of the majority of traffic accidents," the spokesman added. He said that the two systems, which will come into operations in parallel to the current wet film camera systems, would greatly increase the deterrent effect against these activities, thus improving the road safety in the terrority. It is expected that with the introduction of these highly automated systems, a great portion of workload which formerly required manual labour can now be computerised, hence releasing valuable resources to reinforce continuous enforcement action against undesirable behaviour along high-speed roads in pursuance with the Commissioner's Operational Targets of 2004. Road safety is one of the seven major operational targets set out by the Commissioner of Police in 2004. Under the Commissioner's Operational Targets in 2004, HKP strives to enhance road safety in Hong Kong by: * enforcing the "Selective Traffic Enforcement Policy"; * deploying police resources strategically at known traffic black sites; * conducting operations commensurate with the prevailing accident trends throughout Hong Kong; * maintaining police presence at major thoroughfares to ensure smooth traffic flow and taking prompt enforcement action against inconsiderate driving behaviours; and * enhancing publicity on road safety awareness. "Upon the successful roll-out of the two new systems, TD and HKP will also continue to closely monitor the road safety situation in the terrority and keep reviewing the requirement for further expansion of the scheme should any needs arise," the spokesman said. A comprehensive list of these enforcement sites has been uploaded onto the Hong Kong Police Force homepage (http://www.police.gov.hk) for public viewing. |