Print 44 comment(s) - last by spluurfg.. on Feb 26 at 6:39 PM

New traffic cams in the UK make Dracula proud

Most drivers in larger cities where carpool lanes are common have seen the lone driver cruising in the HOV lane oblivious to the rules. Sometimes these lane raiders get caught, but more often than not they get away with going solo in the HOV lane.

Some people try all sorts of trickery to get away with using the HOV lane with only one person in the car from putting photographs on the windshield to fool traffic cameras to using mannequins or blow up dolls. A new camera system is being installed in the UK that can tell how many people are in the car by detecting the amount of blood and bodily fluids are present with the expectation of thwarting these types of offenses.

The new CCTV system will first be used in Leeds, but could eventually find its way across the UK. The cameras work by shooting an infrared beam through the windshield of a car that is able to detect the blood and other fluids inside people in the car.

Similar technology has been used in the hospital setting for years called pulse oximetery which uses an infrared beam to detect how much oxygen is dissolved in the blood. If these cameras work on a similar principal to detect blood is unknown.

Professor John Tyrer headed the Loughborough University team that created the device told Daily Mail, “It [the cameras] allows you to count people.” UK motoring organizations say that the cameras are yet another intrusion on the private lives of motorists.

Whether or not CCTV cameras actually help reduce crime in the UK is a topic of debate. DailyTech reported a study in 2007 that showed the CCTV cameras in use in the UK did not reduce crime.

Comments     Threshold


RE: Reduce Crime?
By mcmilljb on 2/26/2008 3:57:16 AM , Rating: 2
Well then let a cop catch him. It's a waste of time and money. If no one is in the lane, who cares? Better than being stuck in traffic wasting gas. Plus like they said, it doesn't reduce real crime.

RE: Reduce Crime?
By xsilver on 2/26/2008 8:58:50 AM , Rating: 4
yes, what I dont understand is that if they're so insistent on managing car pool lanes; why not have the bobbies patrol them. The officers should be able to pay their own wage with the fines. As people learn that the car pool lane is not to be taken advantage of the police numbers can be reduced to compensate for that to create a happy balance.
Enough with the technological big brother BS

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