Frequently Asked Questions

What about maintenance and ongoing costs?

>The roadside unit has been designed to look after itself as best it can. Depending on traffic dirt, etc, you may have to wipe clean the camera window and polish the solar cell occasionally to keep it in tip-top condition. We provide user maintenance tips as a download when you purchase the unit. Or, you can return it to us for refurbishment at a modest charge.

There is a small but necessary annual cost to maintain the data connectivity for the second and subsequent years. This keeps the unit connected to the mobile network (much like a smartphone data plan) and also gives you access to the dashboard to view results.

All in all, we've tried to make the effective management of speed in your community as affordable as possible.

Does AutoSpeedWatch log total traffic volumes or just speeders?

>Yes; within it's limitations. AutoSpeedWatch is primarily focused on changing driver behaviours and identifying the worst and most persistent speeders, but a new feature does provide some location statistics, including (daytime) volumes and average speeds. Some of these stats are actual, and some are estimated; this is because the unit is solar powered and cannot always capture every speeder. It does however, provide useful information on speed and time distributions, plus average speeds, and a risk analysis of each location.

If you need precise 24hr survey information on volumes of traffic then a dedicated traffic logging product will more likely suit your need.

AutoNoiseWatch is a dedicated vehicle noise camera system for the identification of noisy vehicles. Like AutoSpeedWatch it also includes some statistics reporting, but if statistics are your prime concern then a dedicated traffic logging device will more likely perform better.

How high does the Roadside Unit need to be mounted?

>The Roadside Unit should be ideally mounted at a height of between 2.2m and 4m, with an ideal height around 2.4-3.2m. See our page on Site Location for details.

What is the size and weight of the Roadside Unit?

>The roadside unit has been built to be small and discreet. It's about the size of a book ; 200mm x 175mm x 63mm, and it weighs less than a kilo. The solar cell used to power the unit is incorporated in the top of the Roadside unit, so there's no need for mains power. Easy!

What is the Roadside Unit supplied with?

>The Roadside Unit is supplied with a medium fixing band suitable for a standard sign post (76mm - 120mm), a wrench and a security bit to fix band. It is now also supplied with a Restart Tool to ease installation by enabling the Easy Align function.

Roadside Units (2) Accessories (9) Connectivity (2)

Typical Results

100,000 offences > just 238 key culprits!

In the first year of operation, AutoSpeedWatch captured nearly 100,000 offences, of which ~7,500 were from 'persistent' speeders that had been caught 20 times or more. Those 7,500 offences were generated by just 238 vehicles! Rather than flood police with 1000s of records, AutoSpeedWatch empowers efficient policing, by showing exactly which vehicles cause the worst road safety threats.

Persistents become obvious. Untaxed/Un-MoT'd vehicles highlighted

Persistent Speeders

Once verified, the highest and most persistent speeders 'bubble to the top'... and over a few days those with repeated poor driving behaviour become clearly evident.

For example, as part of a spring 2019 test requested by Avon and Somerset Police, a Roadside Unit was installed in a 30mph zone outside a First School in a small Somerset village known for speeding issues. The unit was tested for less than a week but rapidly identified:

16 habitually speeding vehicles (3 or more times in the week)
Nearly 800 speeding incidents over 38 mph in the 30 mph zone
A few vehicles travelling over 70mph, 6 above 60mph, and 81 above 50mph

The system even highlighted those vehicles (about 4% of speeders) that were untaxed or un-MoT'd.

Reports Automatically Generated

Typical Email Report No need to return to the units to retrieve data; instead the reports can be sent at a touch of a button! In the primary school example above, and after just 1 week from a single unit, the automatic report sent identified the 16 key vehicles causing significant safety risks.

Such reporting enables the police to rapidly and effectively target their resources in the most efficient manner, whether by visiting the registered keeper, writing a warning letter, or deploying the Speed Enforcement Unit.

Reported offences can also be 'throttled back' to limit the number of vehicles that are reported to the police, focusing just on those causing the greatest safety risks.

Heatmaps show when and where police should enforce

Heatmaps guide police Heatmaps for both persistent speeders and for locations graphically guide Speed Enforcement Units on when and where to deploy to best effect. This makes their enforcement process more effective and efficient, reducing their workload, whilst making the biggest impact on road safety. The community guides and assists the police rather than fighting against them.

When combined with all the information from the neighbouring Roadside Units in other communities, the police get a virtually live indication of where their speeding management priorities lie. The system identifies those creating the greatest and most persistent risks to others, rather than penalising good drivers making a mistake.

AutoSpeedWatch - an effective tool to make communities safer.