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KwaZulu-Natal traffic authorities on Tuesday launched their holiday road-safety plan by announcing a high-tech new system to trap speeding motorists and identify stolen vehicles.

The department's new initiative is called "average speed enforcement".

The summer holiday brings increased activity as locals, visitors and tourists traverse the length and breadth of the province.

"We will now have cameras that will monitor the average speeds of all vehicles through an 8,5km radius before and after driving past the device. The number plates and vehicle images will be recorded and transferred electronically through advanced computerised technology to the relevant camera office," said provincial minister of transport, community safety and liaison Bheki Cele.

"The number plates will also be stored in a comprehensive database and used extensively for comparisons against stolen vehicle records and outstanding fine records," he said, speaking at Mooi River.

Random pedestrian blitzes will be carried out at various locations on the N2 and N3 and a special bus will be used to pick up pedestrians on these routes, he said.

Violence relating to public transport is also on the list for the road-safety plan, Cele said.

"We want both drivers and owners of public-transport vehicles, especially the bus and taxi industry, to take responsibility for the safety of their passengers," he said. "You have been warned -- we will show no mercy to any driver or owner who breaks the law."

His statement came after four people were shot and wounded on Tuesday during a taxi turf war at a Durban taxi rank. Two people have since been arrested.

Cele, at the launch ceremony, said the summer holidays are also a period of unacceptably high levels of deviant driver behaviour, which contributes to the high levels of road carnage.

"Some of the potential threats that we usually face during this time include public-transport violence, escalation of cash-in-transit heists, hijacking of goods and vehicles, fraudulent driving- and learner's-licence activities, abuse and misuse of alcohol and drugs, unroadworthy vehicles used to fill increased demand for transport, and pedestrians and animals on roadways," said Cele.

"All personnel will be made available during this period to ensure support for intensified law-enforcement initiatives. The no-leave policy will apply from December 1 to January 14 next year," said Cele.

Roadblocks
Police have also embarked on an interprovincial campaign to hold cross-border, multidisciplinary roadblocks. "We will have Eastern Cape/KwaZulu-Natal cross-border roadblocks on the N2 at Kokstad and Free State -- and KwaZulu-Natal cross-border roadblocks on the N3 at Van Reenen's Pass. We will also target Majuba Pass on the N11, which is used by illegal immigrants."

He added: "We will continue to improve the road environment through appropriate and innovative engineering measures."

A special team of police officers will be tasked to carry out compulsory stop-and-search operations on all public-transport vehicles and trucks throughout the province until the end of January. There will also be random depot visits.

Police will target all unlicensed and unroadworthy heavy motor vehicles, drivers without valid driver's licences and those driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, said Cele.

"Unlicensed vehicles will be impounded until a valid licence is produced. In the case of unlicensed drivers, the vehicle will also be impounded and only handed over to a licensed driver. We will also impound vehicles being driven without number plates."

The department will be distributing road-safety messages at selected Premier Soccer League games in KwaZulu-Natal, at community soccer matches and in shopping malls and taverns during the holiday season.

"Just remember ... look right, look left, look right again before you cross the road," Cele said.

Emergency response
Meanwhile, the KwaZulu-Natal health department launched its "Alpha Operations" plan in Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday in an attempt to ensure speedy response time to emergencies by paramedics, the department said. The effort is also intended to increase the number of ambulances on major routes.

The operation was unveiled by provincial minister of health Neliswa Peggy Mkonyeni at the Royal Showgrounds.

"We are living in a crucial and unpredictable world and as the department we have taken it upon ourselves to play a meaningful role in ensuring rapid and effective medical response to our visitors and locals requiring emergency care," said Mkonyeni.

"The aim of the Alpha Operations plan is to provide rapid response to all incidents on all roads within KwaZulu-Natal and to display visibility of EMRS [emergency service] vehicles at strategic points and bring, excellent services to the people."

The strategic areas to be covered include the busy N2 and N3 routes in the province between the December/January period, and the N11.

PUBLICATION: Mail & Guardian
DATED: 4th December 2007

I-Cube or Integrated Intelligent Imaging (I³) focuses of proactive crime prevention using real time links to multiple internal and external databases in order to generate a warning prior to crime occurring, allowing anticipation of the offence. All the projects I-Cube is involved with have a central theme of using images, as this allows both the real time and covert nature of the proactive crime prevention systems to operate to the best effect.

HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS: As the person or car approaches the entrance a camera captures a number of images from which the license plate or face are extracted. These images are saved, allowing this information to be used in subsequent investigations. The face or license plate is then compared to local databases, allowing greeting of repeat visitors and external databases, such as insurance companies, stolen and suspicious vehicles, SAPS, Metro, etc. If the vehicle is listed as stolen, appropriate action should then be taken. If the vehicle is listed as never have been registered, this is a good vehicle to investigate further. Within a short period of the system being in operation, most vehicles and people have been logged and registered, allowing typically limited resources to be focused on the few remaining exceptions. The ability to leverage the equipment to operate in a marketing role, while still actively focusing on proactive crime prevention, has major advantages in a cash limited environment. If you have more than 50 people a day passing a point where we can place a camera, I-Cube has the experience and ability to turn this into a revenue stream. Please contact I-Cube to explore this further.

WHAT IS REQUIRED: The key to proactive crime prevention using real time links is that the system does not require human intervention, it is fully automatic. The camera automatically captures the image, the facial or license plate is automatically compared to both local and remote databases and if required an alarm is generated. The I-Cube solution can operate locally but using a wide range of communication means (including ADSL, 3G, GPRS, iBURST, Wireless or satellite) a real time link to multiple databases can be established, allowing immediate updates of stolen vehicles as they are added to SAPS or the insurance databases.

The system requires a camera linked to a computer, running the I-Cube Intelligent Software. The software is trained to recognise the item to be logged or counted, be that people, cars or different types of products. Once the item is logged, it can then be compared to pre-set rules or databases, allowing an alarm to be generated if the incorrect number of products exit or a vehicle enters after hours or is listed as not allowed. The ability to link vehicle colour, weight, and driver, biometric and other info as required to the license plate gives the I-Cube system tremendous advantages.

I-Cube can integrate with your existing system or provide dedicated cameras, computers and networks. Please contact I-Cube with your requirements and existing equipment.

WHAT DOES IT COST: I-Cube can provide database links only, software only, some hardware and software or a complete solution, fully installed and maintained, if required? The cost can be a capital amount, a rental per month, a cost per transaction or shared revenue. Costs range from 0.13c per chicken (based on 100 000 birds a day) to 3c per car (based on single entry / exit lanes) to R1 950.00 per month to R49 500.00 for the software and hardware. Please contact I-Cube for your specific requirements.

The following illustrates some examples of the users of this technology. Please contact I-Cube or your local IT / CCTV / DVR / biometric supplier for a customised proposal, taking into consideration your requirements, existing solutions and possible revenue sources.

SCHOOL: The entrance of the school is covered with a camera, which is linked wirelessly to a PC running the I-Cube software. The students, staff and parents are enrolled into a local database, which allows specific messages to be placed on an electronic display, while visitors are directed to the visitor parking area and then to reception. The schools limited manpower resources can then focus on the visitors, rather than the known parents or staff. Please contact I-Cube for more details.

DISTRIBUTION CENTRE: The ability to link the license plate, driver facial image, vehicle type and colour, container number and weight of the truck and weight of goods listed on the invoice prevents unauthorised removal of any items. Productivity per vehicle is up while the number of hours wasted at weigh bridges has been substantially reduced, as the distribution centre no longer allows vehicles out which would be fined for overloading. Please contact I-Cube for more details.

GOLF ESTATE: The existing cameras at the entrance and at key points through the estate were linked to the I-Cube LPR software allowing all visitors and residents to be logged at a number of points through the estate. The system was linked to a national database of suspect and stolen cars, allowing proactive crime prevention. When an alarm is detected, the armed reaction team are called into action, supporting the estate front end guards. A side effect of the I-Cube LPR solution is that the average speed of the vehicles is automatically determined, ensuring the estate remains children friendly. Please contact I-Cube for more details.

OFFICE BLOCK: Parking, or rather the lack of parking within the office block was the reason to call I-Cube. Each tenant has a certain number of bays allocated for staff and visitors. When these bays were occupied and more vehicles were allowed into the office block, major congestion resulted, causing severe frustration for both visitors and office workers. I-Cube utilised the existing cameras to count the number of vehicles into and out of the office block. When the number of vehicles approached critical level, a mobile LPR system was deployed and staff parking in visitor areas were requested to remove their vehicles. Failure to comply led to banning of those vehicles for a certain number of days, again utilising the I-Cube enabled LPR solution. Please contact I-Cube for more details.

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH: The problem faced by the neighbourhood watch was not that of limited resources or money, but of how to prevent known criminals from entering the area patrolled by the neighbourhood watch. The exiting dome cameras were linked to the I-Cube LPR solution, plus a mobile LPR solution was provided. All vehicles and people entering the neighbourhood watch area were recorded and match against the known criminals. If matched, these people were approached and asked to explain where they were going and what they were doing. Car theft was reduced substantially while contact crimes no longer occur. Please contact I-Cube for more details.

TRAFFIC DEPARTMENT: The department had a recovery rate of fewer than 30% of all fines issued. I-Cube introduced a road block LPR solution which allowed the traffic department to generate an alarm when a vehicle with an outstanding fine or warrant was detected. These vehicles were then automatically pulled over to a parking area where the drivers were informed of any fines or warrants were issued. The drivers had the option to pay any amounts outstanding via credit card, check or cash via the I-Cube supplied mobile payment systems. The number of outstanding fines has improved substantially to more than 70%. Please contact I-Cube for more details.

TAXI ROUTE MONITORING & ENFORCEMENT: If taxi routes are not regulated commuters along non profitable routes are not serviced and violence between competing taxi associations often results. If the taxi routes are monitored with the I-Cube LPR solution illegal operators are immediately identified and prevented from operating. Where two of these monitoring points are linked, average speed determination can be determined and the number of trips per taxi per day can be calculated and communicated to the taxi owners. Please contact I-Cube for more details.

TRUCK OVERWEIGHT ENFORCEMENT: A number of kilometres before the truck reaches the off ramp to the official weighbridge where a fine would be issued, the license plate is captured using the I-Cube LPR solution and weight is determined using an in line weigh sensor. If the weight per axle or total weight exceeds that allowed, the license truck is sent a message via the variable message signs (VMS) that it is required to exit on the next off ramp and proceed to the weigh bridge. If the driver / vehicle proceed past the off ramp or do not go to the weigh bridge, an alarm is generated, allowing the truck to be chased / pulled over further ahead or logged for further action. Please contact I-Cube for more details.

A NUMBER OF OTHER EXAMPLES EXIST: Please contact I-Cube for more details.