A12: number's up for speeding drivers

5:58pm Wednesday 30th July 2008

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Drivers speeding along the A12 will see their number plates flash up on a sign and be warned to slow down as part of a groundbreaking new trial.

The Highways Agency has started trialling a new vehicle-activated speed indicator device on the London-bound carriageway near Kelvedon, after spending the past few weeks installing the equipment.

Initially, it will be displaying the national speed limit sign with the message “Slow Down” when it detects a speeding motorist.

But for a month from next week, automatic number plate recognition units will detect the number plate of a speeding vehicle and display it as well.

None of the data collected will be used to issue speeding tickets or for any other kind of enforcement, and the equipment is due to be taken down at the start of September.

Although the equipment was briefly trialled on the M42 two years ago, this is the first time number plates of speeding vehicles have been displayed on such a scale.

A Highways Agency spokesman said the system did not record any personal data and complied with the Data Protection Act.

Mark Pooley, Highways Agency project sponsor, said existing vehicle-activated systems only showed the speed limit sign and not the vehicle’s number plates.

“We are investigating whether the system has an effect on the behaviour of drivers,” he said.

“We will assess the vehicle speed data, and look at what impact the messages has on drivers and how well the technology works with live traffic.

“This is the first time we have been able to bring these components together on a live road to measure the speed of vehicles in several adjacent lanes, and advise those driving at the highest speeds that they need to slow down.”