The next time you think of speeding, then denying it was you driving the vehicle later, think again. The Royal Malaysia Police Force (PDRM) has commissioned US-made high definition speed cameras to catch speeding motorists.
The LTI 20-20 TruCAM costs approximately US$6,000 (RM17,000) and is capable of capturing high resolution pictures of speeding vehicles from a maximum distance of 1.2km, and can clock speedsters traveling as fast as 320kmh. The belief that speed cameras cannot detect speeds of over 180kmh? Urban myth.
PDRM commissioned five TruCAMs and 36 other laser speed detectors and since then has caught tens of thousands of the 285,000 motorists speeding within the last four months. That’s an average of 2,375 motorists caught speeding each day.
With the use of high definition photographic evidence, the number of disputes against summonses issued reduce drastically. A complete chain of video evidence is collected, along with a high resolution image that identifies vehicle make and model, license plate number and facial characteristics of the driver. Summonses are sent out to the owner of the vehicle within seven days, with the high-def captured image attached as proof.
PDRM plans to purchase another 25 high-def cameras.
The enforcement division of the Road Transport Department (JPJ) has warned that they too are catching errant motorists with the sets of high def cameras, at least two in each State.
With new high-def cameras in place, motorists will not only need to watch their speedometers in speed limited zones, but also what they do in their cars while driving (see example below – thank you Khairan for the image).
Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear fame has a workaround though. Driving fast in Japan in a GTR has brought out some ingenuity in Clarkson to not get reprimanded for a speeding offence. See the snapshots below and the video of what you could do to hide your identity. 🙂
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3i-HRxf8z4
I haven’t exactly been a model citizen where driving is concerned, with numerous summons under my belt, so this news makes me more conscious and wary of speeding on the road. Personally I feel, PDRM and JPJ should be more transparent about deployed cameras and notify motorists where they are situated, much like how it’s done overseas. Sneaking up behind bushes then organising a roadblock while disrupting traffic just doesn’t cut it any more.
What are your thoughts on enforcement with HD cameras?
Source: TheStaronline
