Did you know SA makes use of 3 systems to catch speeding?
South African law enforcement has three methods of catching, capturing and enforcing speeding motorists. Here’s all you need to know.
If you’re a driver who frequents South African roads, there’s some important information for you to keep in mind when it comes to speed traps in the country.
According to a report by MyBroadband, SA authorities use three primary methods to find motorists who have exceeded the speed limits on our roads.
These include:
Fixed cameras
Portable radar scanners (these are manned by law enforcement officials) and
Average-speed-over-distance (ASOD) systems.
Fixed cameras
These cameras are placed on roads and are regarded as the most basic form of speed monitors in SA.
According to the publication, fixed cameras use piezoelectric strips or radar technology. These strips are placed across the road and convert inputs into signals that inevitably determine a car’s speed.
Some fixed cameras also make use of radar-based systems. The radiowaves from the radars are bounced off passing vehicles. In order to calculate a vehicle’s speed, it measures the change in frequency over a certain span.
If the car is travelling over the speed limit, a camera will capture its number plate.
Portable radar scanners
Traffic law enforcement authorities also make use of physical scanners to catch speeding. Some of these scanners use radar technology, like the fixed cameras. These cameras, reportedly must be calibrated every year for the offences that were captured to be captured enforced.
ASOD systems
Although these systems are thought of as the easiest to spot, they are regarded the most difficult to avoid. ASOD systems make use of two cameras which are placed at a certain distance from each other.
These are usually suspended above a road, attached to a pole. The first camera will scan a vehicle’s number plate as it enters the ASOD zone and it will be rescanned upon exit.
Following this, the system calculates the speed the car travelled within the zone using the time it took to reach the second camera.
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