RTIC 2004 implementing a very accurate, wide-area speed monitoring traffic data collection system

Road traffic accidents happen for a variety of reasons. These can include driver error, vehicle malfunction, adverse weather, highway layout problems, and of course excessive speed. Although most accidents are a combination of two or more of these factors, excessive speed is very often a contributory factor and is a common thread in most cases. As a result of its mission statement, The City Council of Newcastle needs to monitor areas that differ widely in the use of speed and the way speed control is implemented. The network that has been installed provides them with an accurate real-time representation of traffic speed across a widespread area. This enables them to monitor what is happening in different areas at the same time. The system is based on a loop card that through use of a new algorithm provides very accurate data on speed when compared to existing equipment and alternative methods. The data are transmitted via GPRS which makes near real-time access available.