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This project has it's field of
application in the management of roads and intends to detect and charge
speed excess in a much broader range than before with traditional radar
and police surveillance.
To understand it, let's imagine a road like Florida's Turnpike, using the ticket system, that is a closed road, in the sense that it has clear points of entry and exit. When drivers exit the road, toll is calculated based on the entry and exit points, following a table based primarily on distances between these points. We all know that in roads like this, good road conditions stimulate drivers to cruise them at speeds much higher than specified speed limits. The idea, named SpeedToll
is based on elapsed time between control points and is in essence simply
the calculation of driver's speed between entry and exit points by the
direct application of classic average speed definition: the ratio between
the distance and the time spent.
If road section is covered in less than standard time (time it would take between control points following speed limits along the way) we can say that driver has violated speed limit and we could charge him a fine. Those fines could be collected immediately or post processed by transit departments and charged later to drivers (if we use the car license recording option). This would be a remarkable way to enforce speed limits, but in next paragraph we'll see there is an even better way than directly charging fines (that would generate a licensing fee for us based on fines charged by this method). Let's examine now toll overprice
that's much more effective and is our recommended procedure, because it
allows immediate punishment of excess speed and at the same time keeps
intact the current controls and fines, now with a higher rate of success.
The concept is a toll that is based not only on the distance covered but
also on the relative speed it has been covered.
Collection may be done at each intermediate point or only in selected ones and on exits, depending of management convenience. The method naturally permits
differentiation parameters for different categories of vehicles, as cars,
buses, trucks, motorcycles, etc.
This method may also be used
in specific urban ways where an efficient speed control is needed, even
if there is not a toll charging.
Drivers don't have an easy
way to avoid charges when this method is used. It's not like radar systems
and police control that may be noticed by drivers and equipment like radar
detectors: fast drivers are always caught. The only way not to pay toll
overprice is to make each road section within speed limits, or, in other
words in standard time.
As we can see, concept is very simple, but absolutely efficient in respect to what it intends to do. Significant social and behavioral benefits are generated. To have this method effective, it's necessary political support, legal permission, commercial agreements with road operators, auditing provisions, technical support contracts, and mass marketing advertising all the benefits of it's adoption, like reduction of accidents in controlled road, additional road incomes charged to fast drivers, enforcing speed limits, etc. In order to make this idea
operational, we developed an specific software, "TimeCop" that implements
all those concepts for immediate use.
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