For now it is in a testing period, but the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) is experimenting with a new technology to catch drivers who skip stop signs and continuous lines at junctions. A system of license plate reader cameras is in charge of controlling that drivers respect a stop sign and a section of continuous line that are being monitored on roads that have not yet been revealed by Traffic. “We will inform about its location later,” say sources from the agency.
In the latest issue of the ‘Traffic and Road Safety’ magazine for the month of June, the DGT reports on the tests it is carrying out to monitor respect for the continuous line at junctions and stop signs at junctions . Jorge Ordás, deputy director of Mobility and Technology Management of the DGT, points out that these two actions pose a high risk to road safety and that to correct the behavior of offending drivers, they will resort to “intelligence applied to devices of catchment”.
This camera system, which is already used to control other offences, such as seat-belt use or access to Low Emission Zones, is designed to reduce accidents on the road. In 2021, the last year with complete statistics published, 1,093 drivers among those involved in accidents with victims had not respected a stop sign.
With regard to side collisions, which to a large extent are caused by not respecting the continuous line in the incorporations, in 2021 there were 217 deaths due to collisions of this type.
Given the multitude of crossings regulated by stop signs on the roads, the DGT has begun testing an automatic system to monitor these crossings. A video camera is in charge of recording all the cars that approach the signal and sends the recording of those that do not respect the stop sign to the Automatic Complaints Treatment Center.
To check that the car has come to a complete stop and that the driver has not acted as if it were giving way, the camera has been previously calibrated.
Skipping a stop is an infraction that entails a fine of 200 points and the withdrawal of 4 points from the driver’s license.
There are more and more road infrastructures and more vehicles on the road, so it is necessary to maximize security measures in this constantly growing environment. One of the maneuvers that require more attention is joining a multi-lane road. For this reason, Traffic has decided to focus on this driving action that is so dangerous as vision is reduced by the blind spot phenomenon.
The system used by the DGT in this pilot test consists of two combined cameras that photograph all the vehicles that circulate through the junctions and the right lane of the main road into which they join. One camera reads the license plate of the cars that are going to join the main road and the other, located a few meters ahead, checks if the vehicle in question has exceeded the continuous line to complete the manoeuvre.
The vehicles hunted by the cameras are reported automatically and the offenders are subject to the corresponding sanction. The fine for not respecting the horizontal signaling is 200 euros and does not entail the deduction of points.
