How to boost road safety and beat congestion with smart video

Improving the standard of driving in cities has major benefits, from reducing accidents and injuries, to speeding up traffic flow and reducing congestion. Find out about the three key ways that smart video can help traffic enforcement units manage and respond to traffic violations better and faster than ever before. 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), road traffic accidents kill 1.35 million people a year. Not only that, but poor driving practices – such as illegal parking or incorrect use of priority lanes – also dramatically increase congestion and cause traffic chaos in cities around the world. 

With these challenges looming large, and the number of vehicles on the roads increasing every year, city and highway authorities need smart technology solutions that detect and prevent bad driving. The good news is that there are three key ways that smart video can help with this. 

1. Prevent speeding and dangerous driving using ‘checkpoints’

The latest smart video solutions verify the speed of vehicles using either a fixed speed radar at a checkpoint, or equipment that checks the average speed of a vehicle between two checkpoints. If vehicles are traveling at dangerous speeds, traffic units can trigger an immediate response. In other cases, a speeding ticket can be sent to vehicle owners at their registered address.

In addition to speeding, checkpoints equipped with smart video solutions can detect a number of additional traffic violations. For example, if drivers are wearing their seatbelts, or if the wrong types of vehicles enter a restricted zone. 

2. Improve safety and traffic flow at intersections

Using smart video technology, traffic enforcement units can monitor driving behavior at intersections, helping to reduce the risk of accidents and speed up traffic flow. 

As well as detecting vehicles that run red lights, the latest generation of smart video solutions helps prevent misuse of lanes, illegal U-turns, wrong-way driving, and other incidents that can cause accidents and delays. 

3. Reduce illegal parking to curb congestion 

Illegal parking causes major problems on road networks, especially by slowing down traffic and causing unnecessary congestion. The latest smart video solutions can help win the battle against illegal parking with high-resolution, low-light imaging, license plate recognition, and automated alerts if vehicles park in restricted zones. 

Bring it all together for outstanding results

To maximize road safety and to help reduce traffic congestion, these three elements need to work together. In other words, infrastructure at checkpoints, intersections, and restricted parking zones should all be connected and able to provide a real-time view of traffic violations. 

In this way, traffic units will be able to stream and analyze video data from all areas of the road network in real time, view vehicles that violate traffic rules, and play back footage to see exactly what happened and where. They can also integrate their monitoring systems with ticketing systems that works to send fines and other penalties to vehicle owners’ addresses.

Find out how with Hikvision smart video solutions

Please visit Hikvision website to find out more about smart video solutions for traffic violation detection. You can also contact us to discuss your specific goals and challenges and we’ll be happy to help.