‘Ultimate’ safety camera developed with EC funding

UK roads could soon be under the surveillance of the ‘ultimate’ safety camera, according to a Yahoo news report.

Known as ASSET (Advanced Safety and Driver Support for Essential Road Transport), the camera uses 3D technology to detect multiple driving offences at the same time.

As well as speeding, ASSET can see if a driver is wearing a seatbelt, measure the distance between cars (to identify tailgating), read number plates and tax discs (to see if the driver has valid insurance and Vehicle Excise Duty).

ASSET will generate instant multiple penalties for drivers, raising the possibility of an instant ban. It will be fitted to police patrol vehicles and the information will be fed back to a central police database.

ASSET, developed by the VVT Technical Research Centre in Finland, has been funded to the tune of £7.1 million by the European Commission. The project began in July 2008 and testing, currently taking place in Finland, France, Germany and Austria, will be completed by December 2011.

It is expected to go to market in 2013, and to cost £50,000 per camera.

Edmund King, AA president, said: "Tailgating is more dangerous in most cases than speeding, so I think most motorists would welcome it, as long as it is not used as a money making machine."

Click here to read the full Yahoo news report.