| Technology Profile
Measuring the impact of
enforcement on air quality
Left: Videalert’s Air Quality
Monitor gathers data to
help target moving traffic
enforcement activities for
environmental benefit
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January/February 2020 Traffic Technology International
www.TrafficTechnologyToday.com
081
With there being a clear
link between traffic
congestion and air
pollution, it is now time to take
a more holistic approach to
maximize the impact of
enforcement cameras and air
quality initiatives such as clean
air/low emission zones.
As the level of urban
congestion increases, CCTV
cameras have been installed to
enforce regulations designed to
keep traffic moving and
improve safety. Clearly, if the
volume of vehicles on our roads
continues to rise, congestion
will increase resulting in more
pollution and a corresponding
spike in health issues.
Enforcement cameras can
indirectly have a major impact
on air quality, by helping to keep
traffic moving and reducing
problems caused by vehicles
idling in queues. They enable
authorities to take positive
action in enforcing moving
traffic contraventions such as
box junctions, banned turns,
restricted access and bus lanes.
Empowered enforcement
In the UK, to date, it is only local
authorities in London and
Wales that have assumed
responsibility from the police
for upholding these particular
traffic regulations. However, a
recent announcement from the
UK government that local
authorities outside London will
soon be granted the powers to
enforce moving traffic
contraventions under the
Transport Management Act
2004 will provide a level playing
field for councils across
England. This change will be
significant as many local
authorities report that the police
are no longer carrying out this
enforcement due to budget cuts
and manpower shortages
meaning that drivers that flout
| Need to know
Moving traffic
contraventions that,
if enforced, can help
reduce pollution by
reducing congestion
> Stopping in box junctions
> Banned turn offences
> Access to restricted areas
> Driving in bus lanes
> Illegal parking
> Stopping in school
safety areas
the rules of the road are going
unpunished.
But how can the impact of
such enforcement initiatives be
accurately measured in terms of
reducing pollution? The answer
can be found in a new
generation of air-quality
monitors that can be integrated
with enforcement cameras to
cross correlate the impact of
improved driver compliance
with the improvements in air
quality realized as a result. Each
outstation device has a sensor
providing real-time data on the
level of airborne particulates,
platform which supports
multiple traffic, parking, school
safety, clean air and crime
prevention applications
simultaneously. The platform
enables this data to be
‘visualized’ to show the levels of
gas and particulate matter at
different times, day and night,
and will have a significant role
to play, particularly when used
outside schools as part of a
range of measures to protect
children’s safety and health
from pollution caused by
excessive vehicle traffic.
In the future this data can
also be shared with UTMC style
systems to alert drivers, via
video message screens, of high
pollution levels and, if
appropriate, re-route traffic.
Data from the sensors can also
be blended with enforcement
data from CCTV cameras to
strengthen and validate the
business case for the adoption of
moving traffic enforcement
restrictions including clean air
or low emission zones.
As well as providing councils
with real-time insight into the
impact of enforcement cameras
on improved air quality this
holistic approach will also help
to win the hearts and minds of
drivers who otherwise might
feel that they are being used as
cash cows to fund local
government budget shortfalls.
including nitrogen dioxide and
carbon dioxide. Using the latest
optical-based technologies and
advanced sensor fusion
algorithms, the device senses
and counts airborne particles
from 1-1800μgm³. To ensure
reliable operation, the sensor is
based on light scattering and is
fully glass sealed, protecting the
internal mechanism from
detrimental atmospheric effects.
Pollution problems
The health issues caused by
pollution were recently
highlighted in a report from
King’s College London which
showed that hundreds more
children and adults are
suffering out-of-hospital cardiac
arrests or being sent to hospital
following strokes or severe
asthma attacks on days when air
pollution levels are raised.
Mayor of London, Sadiq
Khan said, “London’s lethal air
is a public health crisis – it leads
to thousands of premature
deaths in the capital every year,
as well as stunting the
development of young lungs
and increasing cases of
respiratory illness.”
The new air quality sensors
transmit captured data to
Videalert’s digital video
Videalert
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