Fima technology company will implement Lithuania’s largest ever speed control project in the country’s roadways. Fima will install 50 speed cameras by November 2008, and the number will reach 150 a year later. The company will also develop a data centre, computerised workstations at major police commissariats, and will provide radar maintenance services for 10 years. The entire project will cost EUR 14 million.
“We proposed a solution which satisfies all technical requirements set to the equipment, and which will operate smoothly in any weather conditions,” Fima Solution Department Director Rokas Šlekys said. “Being a technology company, we consider this project an important and interesting one both in terms of its complexity and perspectives. For the time being, road traffic control systems are in the developmental stage in Lithuania, and this project constitutes a major part of the country’s traffic speed measurement system.”
Fima will install MultaRadar S580 radars manufactured by the German company Robot Visual Systems GmbH. With a view to ensuring the precision of the radar data even when the temperature is 30 degrees below zero (as provided for in the tender requirements), the radars will be assembled in protective boxes provided by the same manufacturer, in which the temperature suitable for radar operation will be ensured. Therefore, the speed camera data will be precise even when the weather is extremely cold, and won’t be possible to appeal against legally. The protective boxes are intended not only to protect the radars from unauthorised access, but also contain a heating and ventilation system ensuring the required internal environment for performance of the meter functions.
The meters register speed in the range from 20 to 250 km/h and various vehicle parameters such as the driving direction, time, and vehicle class. Upon establishment of excessive speed, the radars can photograph both approaching and retiring vehicles. The meter speed measuring error, where the speed reaches 100 km/h, is one percent.
Protection of the meter will be assigned to a security company. The security company, like the data centre, will receive an alarm signal if the radar box is opened by an unauthorised person.
Analogous meters are currently being used by the Lithuanian Police. “We haven’t have any complaints concerning improper recording of violators,” Vilnius Chief Police Commissariat Head Vytautas Černevičius said. MultaRadar S580 radars are widely used both in Scandinavian countries such as Finland and Iceland, where winters are even colder than in Lithuania, and in Middle Eastern, African, and other countries, where the climate is hot. Over 700 radars of this type have been installed in Finland alone, where, just as in Lithuania, they are assembled in protective boxes.
“Speed cameras are needed in Lithuanian roads now, so Fima will fulfil its contractual obligations within the shortest possible time period. We hope that speed cameras will discipline drivers, encourage them not to exceed the speed limits, and help to reduce the number of accidents in the most dangerous places in the country,” Fima Deputy General Manager Valdas Sutkus said.
The Lithuanian Road Administration has conducted a study which demonstrated the undeniable importance of speed cameras in fighting the “war” on the roads. Foreign experience (e.g. UK) shows that speed cameras have enabled an approximate 40 percent reduction in the number of accidents involving casualties. Upon installing 225 speed cameras in 30 road segments with a total length of approximately 500 km in Sweden, the number of traffic accidents leading to people’s death decreased by one-half, whereas the number of accidents causing severe injuries – by 25 percent.
Povilas Narbutas, Deputy Head of the Traffic Safety Department of the Lithuanian Road Administration, is convinced that the effectiveness of speed radars is obvious. “Statistical data shows that radars help to reduce the number of traffic accidents in places where it was especially high prior to introduction of the radars. In some cases, the number of accidents leading to injuries or death is reduced by 100 percent. There’s no doubt that radars are an effective measure to discipline drivers,” Mr Narbutas said.
In Vilnius, speed cameras register approximately 7–8 thousand violators per year, although in some places radars may register as many as 100 instances of excessive speed per day. Speed cameras are an excellent preventive measure, as drivers slow down when they see them, which more often than not is sufficient for reducing the number of accidents. At present, there are speed cameras in 40 locations in Vilnius, 1 location in Kaunas, 15 locations in Klaipėda, and 12 locations in nationally significant roads. Yet the number of actually installed radars is lower, because the radars are regularly moved from one road joint to another.
As shown by the studies conducted by the Lithuanian Road Administration, exceeding the maximum allowed speed is considered by experts as the primary reason for traffic accidents. Scientific data shows that reducing the average speed by 1 km/h will lower the accident rate by 5 percent. The British experience demonstrates that speed cameras help to reduce by up to 80 percent the number of instances where the speed limit is exceeded by more than 20 km/h.
