Speeding without speed cameras? Caught red-handed by an undercover patrol car

Police Pilot Operation of 'Patrol Car-Mounted Traffic Enforcement Equipment'
Priority Crackdown on Speeding Starting December

Traffic enforcement equipment installed on patrol cars to be used in undercover patrol vehicles. [Photo provided by the National Police Agency]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] Police-operated 'undercover patrol cars' will be equipped with speeding enforcement devices. It is expected to prevent so-called 'kangaroo driving,' where drivers only slow down in front of unmanned enforcement cameras, and to raise drivers' awareness of speeding. ▶Refer to Asia Economy report dated August 10

The National Police Agency announced on the 7th that it will pilot the operation of 'patrol car-mounted traffic enforcement equipment' capable of detecting speeding while the patrol car is in motion starting this month.

The patrol car-mounted traffic enforcement equipment automatically detects speeding by measuring the speed of vehicles ahead. It uses radar to improve speed measurement accuracy (within about 2% error) and a high-performance camera to enhance vehicle number plate recognition rate (within about 4% error at 50m). It also includes functions to automatically record and transmit enforcement information by tracking the location in real time.

This pilot operation will be conducted by equipping 17 undercover patrol cars of the highway patrol unit with the devices. This month will focus on publicity, and starting next month, enforcement will prioritize 'excessive speeding' (exceeding the speed limit by +40 km/h). For speeding less than or equal to +40 km/h over the speed limit, warnings will be issued for three months before enforcement begins. To eliminate enforcement blind spots, the police plan to equip 10 additional undercover patrol cars operating on general roads such as national highways within this year.

Until now, police highway speeding enforcement has mainly relied on fixed unmanned enforcement cameras. However, since the locations of these cameras are all known, drivers tend to slow down only at enforcement points. Although section enforcement is conducted at certain points to supplement this, there have been voices that it is insufficient to raise awareness of speeding. Notably, the fatality rate for highway speeding accidents over the past three years has averaged 25%, four times higher than the overall traffic accident fatality rate (6%).

In response, the police began developing enforcement equipment earlier this year that can be mounted on patrol cars to detect speeding unexpectedly while in motion. A National Police Agency official explained, "Currently, automatic detection is limited to speeding, but we plan to increase the items using video analysis technology. We intend to focus development on motorcycle violations such as signal violations and sidewalk riding, which have recently caused public concern."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.