Technical Evaluation of Photo Speed Enforcement for Freeways

US Transportation Collection2005PDFTech ReportRoberts, Craig A.Brown-Esplain, JamieNorthern Arizona University. Arizona Laboratory for Applied Transportation ResearchArizona. Department of TransportationUnited States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway AdministrationOwen, Stephen R.Arizona. Department of TransportationArizonaPhoenix (Arizona)High speed photographyTraffic speedTraffic safetyFreewaysInstruments for measuring speed or velocityPhoto RadarSpeed EnforcementSpeed CamerasSpeed CountermeasuresADOT-AZ-05-596JPA 05-011T/H670401LExtreme speeding on urban-area freeways contributes to increased crashes resulting in fatalities, property damage, and increased maintenance and public safety costs. Photo speed enforcement systems (speed cameras) that automatically sense a speeding vehicle and photograph it and its driver have proven effective at reducing speeding violations, primarily on city streets and arterials. The use of this technology on high-volume, high-speed, multi-lane freeways is technically much more challenging, and largely untested. This research investigates if the current offerings of vendors can provide a viable technical solution in this freeway environment. Twelve ideal characteristics were established that are needed for a speed camera system to operate on Phoenix, Arizona, metro-area freeways. Six vendors were interviewed. Thirteen agencies that use speed camera systems were interviewed, although none were found with sufficient freeway operating experience to provide definitive information to design a field trial. Therefore, only a conceptual field trial and accompanying test plan were developed to explore the technical aspects of potential systems. Public opinion and countermeasures on speed camera systems were researched and reported. No current vendor offering meets all of the twelve ideal characteristics that were established. Advancements in speed camera systems continue, and it is logical to predict that they can be met in the future. One new technology that shows promise is \u201cpoint-to-point,\u201d which tracks average speed between two points on a roadway. This research did not address the violation processing and management activities but noted that these must be addressed before a field trial can proceed.143