New traffic cameras that can catch as many as five offences at a time are coming by 2013. That’s the word out of Finland, where the Asset camera system is being developed. It will be deployed throughout Europe by 2013.
The new cameras will not only catch speeders, but will be able to determine if occupants are wearing seat belts and tag autos for tailgating. Of course it will also read your tags and determine if your license and insurance are up to date.
The system is touted as an advance in safety development, but with all the tasks it can accomplish it seems its goal may be to create income for authorities.
Real safety advocates say that the only new safety feature would be the Asset system’s ability to gage distance between two cars. They comment that tailgating is an even greater danger to motorists than speeding.
While they want to encourage anything that could increase road safety, they will also acknowledge that the rest of the features seem geared to generate income rather than save lives or spare injury.
Safety advocates also point out the elements that really cause accidents like inattention to the road and misinterpreting driver’s intentions are not things that can be caught by a camera.
They feel this sort of designation is important in helping to remember that these are not safety cameras, but rather traffic cameras, whose main intent has always been to help catch motorists in the act of committing traffic violations.
