Camera focusing on empty seats

Is this the coolest camera on Britain's streets? The roadside devices have got a flash new design - but this one isn't only modern in looks

Auto Express Car Reviews

07th May 2007

Its job is to count the number of people inside cars using high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. And it paves the way for a fresh road charging scheme, where drivers may have to pay for empty seats in their cabin.

The first arrives next month, and 1,350 could be in place by 2010. Drivers on the A647 from Leeds to Bradford, W Yorks, will be monitored by the device when trials start this summer. It sends out two beams of infra-red light at frequencies reflected only by human skin. A sensor picks up the reflections and a computer works out how many people are in the vehicle.

Cars in HOV lanes are supposed to have at least two people aboard. If the camera detects too few, it triggers another device to snap the number plate, so the owner can be fined.

The A647 has the UK's only HOV lane as it's too expensive to employ staff to monitor vehicles. The prototype of the new £96,000 camera, called 'dtect', is 74 per cent accurate; scientists aim for more than 90 per cent on the final version. Local councils would hope to recoup the cost of the devices with fine money.

The camera was invented by scientists at Loughborough University, Leics, where the prototype was tested on campus roads.