Section speed control with Jenoptik technology starts in Germany

The Ministry of the Interior of Lower Saxony has the patronage of the pilot project. Jenoptik supports this project with a measurement system from its TraffiSection product range. The system was installed on the Federal Highway 6 south of Hanover in 2015 in order to monitor speed limits on a section of highway just about 2.2 kilometers in length between the municipalities of Gleidingen and Laatzen. The homologation authority PTB (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt) issued the type approval certificate for the TraffiSection system after thorough examination November 2018. Subsequently, the measurement and calibration authority of Lower Saxony calibrated the system.

Section speed control starts as soon as a vehicle enters the relevant section with cameras reading the vehicle’s license plate at both the entry and exit point. If the vehicle’s average speed over the said section exceeds the maximum permitted speed, the TraffiSection system automatically records all data relevant for prosecuting the violation. The system is further able to classify vehicles.

Jenoptik President & CEO Stefan Traeger: “We are very proud to be among the pioneers for a new measuring system in traffic enforcement in Germany following the national approval of our section speed control system. The PTB’s approval confirms that our measuring system meets the highest standards in terms of measurement accuracy and data security. Many thanks to all Jenoptik employees involved and our partners in Lower Saxony for their unflagging dedication. This will now help further increase traffic safety in Germany while also raising acceptance for speed enforcement.”

Jenoptik’s technology for section speed control has already contributed to increase traffic safety in other countries. It has been used successfully for several years in Austria and Switzerland. The TraffiSection technology will be also used for average speed control on one of the world’s longest sea bridges in Kuwait, which is one of the country’s major infrastructure projects.

Reliable laser technology, coded data transmission

For section speed control, Jenoptik uses its laser scanner-based TraffiSection technology. Section speed control measures average speeds over an extended stretch of highway using measuring systems and cameras at the entry and exit points. Every vehicle is registered at each control point and is identified by its license plates. These data are then, after their registration at the entry point, immediately anonymized and encoded using a cryptological procedure in such a way that it is impossible to work out any details of the actual vehicle or any personal data at any time during the measurement. It is not possible either to recognize people in the vehicle as the vehicles are scanned in low resolution from the rear.

If a vehicle’s average speed over the section of highway exceeds the maximum permitted speed, a conventional high-resolution frontal photograph is taken with driver recognition when the vehicle exits the section of the highway. The system automatically records data such as the license plate and a photograph of the driver for use in prosecuting the violation.

By contrast, all data on vehicles that have not exceeded the speed limit will only be stored temporarily for the duration of the period they travel on this stretch of highway and automatically deleted completely after they leave the section of the highway. Due to the use of anonymization, encryption and automatic deletion, access to personal data is not possible.

Advantages for state-of-the-art traffic enforcement

Average speed control using TraffiSection technology offers significant advantages for modern traffic monitoring. The speed limit can be monitored more effectively and cost-efficiently with the aim of achieving increased traffic safety as only one system is required for long stretches of highway and drivers keep to the prescribed speed limit on long sections of highway. This also harmonizes the traffic flow, thus preventing traffic jams from forming. Laser scanner-based Jenoptik technology also makes it possible to accurately identify drivers and document records of traffic offences that will be admissible in court.

Due to the modular structure of this concept, the TraffiSection system is suitable for both stationary, longer-term applications such as in tunnels, and outside of Germany for mobile, short-duration use, for examples at construction sites. Jenoptik also offers “multi-section” solutions for complex stretches of highway with intersections and turn-offs.