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Daily Mail, Thursday, January 12, 2006
By Dan Parkinson
The good news is that it could spell the end of street patrols by traffic wardens. The bad news is that motorists would never again get away with returning to the car a few minutes late.
Introducing Supermeter, the device which photographs number plates and fines drivers automatically if they stay in a parking space for too long.
The Canadian-made device is expected to be on Britain's streets in the near future. The technology is already being tested for use by councils and NCP, which operates parking enforcement for 30 local authorities.
Each Photo Violation Meter costs £3000, but the makers say it will soon pay for itself because it can bring in up to five times as much as a conventional meter.
Fred Mitschele, chief executive of the Vancouver-based manufacturer, hopes to sell the device around the world … starting in London. He said: “We have talked to NCP already and are going to start talking with Westminster City Council. We have an office in Piccadilly for our European and Middle East business and expect it to be staffed next month.”
He predicts that, under the new system, traffic wardens will be switched to monitoring cars from an office.
The self-enforcing parking meter starts ticking the moment a motorist parks in one of the two spaces it controls. It accepts coins, credit or debit cards or payment by mobile phone.
Once the payment has been made the timer displays how long the motorist has been parked already and how long is left.
The second that the paid-for time elapses it issues an on-the-spot fine. As the machine is fitted with a digital camera which takes a picture of the number plate, there can be no escape – unless the car is illegally registered or the plate is cloned.
A photo is instantly transmitted to a central office where the fine is processed. For an additional fee at the meter, however, motorists who do not know how long they will be parked can set it to increase their parking time by the hour until they return. The extra cost is charged to their credit card.
After a motorist leaves the space, the meter automatically resets to zero so the next parker cannot make use of unused time – one of the big savings for the meter operator.
A spokesman for NCP said: “We are always keen to monitor new technology and new developments but we would never envisage the removal of traffic wardens.”
Barry Segal, found of the Appeal-Now.com internet website, said the Supermeter could have some benefits for drivers because they would know ‘exactly where they stand.' “But it could reduce fines income to virtually nothing for the councils as motorists would no longer be so open to making mistakes.”
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