| Equipment and Technology |
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| Laser speedometer |
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The laser speedometer is a small, handheld, compact device that aims a laser
beam towards the target vehicle. When the beam returns to the device’s
receiving set, the device calculates the speed at which the beam returned, and
the vehicle’s distance from the speedometer, which automatically gives the
speed at which the vehicle is traveling. The laser speedometer is handheld and
does not produce a picture, although the police will also consider this option
in the future.
As with other enforcement tools, the laser speedometer is reliable, and the
evidence obtained through it is admissible in court. The laser speedometer has
stood up in the Supreme Court on three occasions; it is popularly known as the
"laser gun".
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| Multanova 6F electronic speedometer for cars |
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The electronic speedometer detects speeding motorists, and photographs the
vehicle committing the offense. The device can be operated from the side of the
road, from a bridge, or from the police car itself. It can observe and
photograph from both in front and behind the target vehicle. The great
advantage of the device is that it can measure the speed of vehicles moving in
any traffic lane, not just the lane nearest to the device, as is the case with
other devices. The device currently uses conventional film, but in the future
will be equipped for digital photography.
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| Cameras |
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In order to combat speeding violations, the police have recently placed
automatic speed cameras in various locations. These cameras take photographs 24
hours a day. At this stage, the cameras use conventional 35-millimeter film.
The photography laboratories in the instrument section of the Traffic
Department planning and development division are responsible for the cameras.
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| Scarecrows |
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In Israel, some vehicle owners keep radar detectors in their cars in order to warn them of the presence of police radar.
The Israel Police take advantage of these detectors by operating miniature radar transmitters,
which simulate police radar broadcasts. These transmitters create false alarms on the radar detectors
in private vehicles, thereby indirectly reducing driving speeds to the legal limit.
These scarecrows are installed on lighting poles and other high places at the side of the roads on
key traffic arteries and on long roads.
The scarecrow, which has a range of more than one kilometer, is powered by a battery, which is
charged by a solar cell. The scarecrows are operated at various times during the day.
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| Breath alcohol meter |
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The Traffic Department has 10 breath alcohol meters that check the amount
of alcohol in air emitted from the lungs of the person being checked.
The Ministry of Health recognizes the devices, use of which is anchored in the
traffic regulations. The results of an examination with the device are admissible
in traffic courts, which regard them as unassailable. The devices are distributed
among various traffic units around Israel. It should be noted that the device is
used only after the driver is checked with a breathalyzer, and he is suspected of being drunk.
The device gives a printed output, shown in the picture, which lists the amount of alcohol.
For your general information, the maximum permissible alcohol level is 240 micrograms of
alcohol per liter in the breath alcohol meter sample, or 50 milligrams of alcohol per one
milliliter of blood. To put it in simple language, the measure is more or less equivalent
to two drinks of alcohol: two shots of hard liquor, two glasses of wine, or two cans of beer.
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| Everest system |
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The Everest system consists of a number of video cameras placed on key traffic arteries
and at busy intersections and interchanges on interurban roads. The image is broadcast
online, and is shown on television screens in the Traffic Department in real time.
Dozens of cameras report the state of traffic and loads on roads in real time.
Among others, Voice of Israel radio personnel permanently stationed at the Traffic
Department use the information from the cameras.
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Traffic light cameras
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One of the most serious traffic offenses is failing to stop for a red light.
Among other methods, the police enforce the law against violators by photographing
offenders when they commit the violation. A vehicle that passes the stop line and
begins moving towards the pedestrian crosswalk, or drives against a red light at
a traffic light, causes two pictures to be taken: one when the vehicle crosses the
detector installed at the location, and the other later on.
It can thereby be detected whether the vehicle actually was in motion.
The vehicle license number can be easily read, and the driver can be given a ticket.
The fine for this offense is particularly high: NIS 1,000. For those interested
in the "fine print", the violation costs the driver 10 points on his record.
An examination by the Traffic Department found that drivers in Israel commit eight million
traffic violations annually that involve crossing an intersection against a red light.
Most police enforcement against those running red lights is done using traffic light cameras.
The police currently have approximately 40 traffic light cameras, deployed over more than 100
operating positions (traffic light boxes). The police can easily transport the cameras between
the boxes at their own discretion. The police also have 100 non-operating dummy positions, which
appear identical to operating positions, and which serve as a deterrent. A driver who sees a
traffic light box can never be sure whether the box actually contains a camera, or whether it
is empty.
It is important to realize that the Traffic Department’s primary goal is to prevent violations,
not to catch offenders. The many boxes are intended to serve the purpose of deterring drivers
from committing violations. In accordance with the rule, “Never punish without warning first,
” it was decided to paint all the camera poles and boxes bright orange, to get the attention
of drivers, and make them careful.
Up until December 4, 1996, running a red light mandated a court summons. After consultations
on the matter between the relevant parties, it was decided that starting on December 5, 1996,
those guilty of this violation would be given the option of a fine. A person driving through
a red light can either pay the legally stipulated NIS 1,000 fine, or ask for a trial and make
his plea to the court. The reason for the change was the desire to relieve the burden on traffic
courts, and to impose the punishment as soon as possible after the offense was committed.
The Israel Police write nearly 40,000 tickets every year for failure to obey red lights.
The vast majority of them (approximately 38,000) are given automatically through the use of
traffic light cameras. The figures show that the 40,000 who are caught constitute a negligible
0.5% of the total number of offenders.
Where does the information about the number of these violations come from? Simple arithmetic.
A traffic light camera films a daily average (24 hours) of three violations in each direction,
or 12 violations per day per intersection. During a year, 4,380 drivers (12 violations per day
times 365 days per year per intersection) run red lights. Since there are 2,000 junctions with
traffic lights in Israel, the number of drivers who run red lights amounts to 8,760,000 annually.
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| VASCAR
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During the 2002 working year, the police began using another speed measuring
device – the visual average speed computer and recorder (VASCAR).
This device, which is installed within the vehicle, is capable of determining
the speed of various vehicles when the police car is moving in traffic.
Although the device can determine a vehicle’s speed, it does not measure
the actual speed; it measures the distance and time of the target vehicle,
and calculates its speed. For example, if it measures the target vehicle for
1,234 meters, and measures the time it took to travel this distance at 31.3 seconds,
it can calculate the vehicle’s average speed on that segment of road: 141.9 kmph.
The measurement is always taken between two prominent objects that can be identified
relatively easily, even if they have not been marked on the spot in advance.
This device was imported from Britain at a cost of NIS 15,000. The police initially
bought 12 of these devices, which are being used on interurban roads. This is the
only device that the police have that can measure speed when the police car is moving.
The device does not take photographs; it displays the driver’s speed, after which the
driver is summoned to the police car to observe his speed.
The device does not measure speed at a specific moment in time; it measures average speed.
In the example described above, for example, it is certainly entirely possible that the
driver was traveling at less than 141.9 kmph on part of the road, in which case his speed
was obviously greater than 141.9 kmph on another part of the road.
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