14-11-06 Project WASP Highly Commended at Civil Service Awards
Project WASP (Weight And Safety Partnership) has been awarded a ‘highly commended’ marking at this year’s Civil Service Awards. This represents a great achievement for VOSA and our partners Highways Agency, Central Police Motorway Group, Department for Transport, Civica and Applied Traffic, especially when it’s considered that the Cabinet Office received over 630 entries.
The project used a combination of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) equipment with Weigh In Motion Sensors (WIMS) in order to accurately identify overloaded vehicles from a remote location, dramatically cutting the need to inconvenience law-abiding drivers. Such was it success - 78% of vehicles stopped received weights prohibitions compared to a normal rate of 10% - that ANPR and WIMS equipment will be installed at a further 14 sites across Britain.
VOSA CEO Stephen Tetlow said: “My congratulations go out to the staff members, both from VOSA and our partners, who worked so hard to achieve this great accolade. We are totally committed to WASP, and believe that this technology can transform our enforcement activities.”
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NOTES TO EDITOR:
Background: Project WASP investigated the effectiveness of linking ANPR equipment with WIMS in order to identify and remove overweight goods vehicles from the motorway system.
Why?: Overloaded vehicles are undesirable for four main reasons: they damage roads and bridges; they are more difficult to control; excise duty can be evaded; and they are unfair competition to law-abiding vehicle operators. Removal of such vehicles from the road supports the DfT public service agreement targets on congestion and road safety.
Benefits: Reduction of wear on roads will reduce maintenance and thus congestion. Road safety will also be improved.
Other awards: In October, the technology used by Project WASP, VIPER (Vehicle Identification and Pre-selection Enforcement Response), won the ITS United Kingdom Technology Award for Excellence.
VOSA (Vehicle & Operator Services Agency) is an executive agency of the Department for Transport. It is responsible for:
• Processing applications for licences to operate lorries and buses and registering bus services
• Operating and administering testing schemes for all vehicles, including the supervision of the MOT testing scheme
• Enforcing the law on vehicles to ensure that they comply with legal standards and regulations
• Enforcing drivers' hours and licensing requirements
• Supporting Traffic Commissioners to help them make informed decisions on operator licensing, vocational drivers and bus registration requirements
• Providing training and advice for commercial operators
• Investigating vehicle accidents, defects and recalls
For media inquiries about VOSA, please contact: Henry Norman on 0117 954 3208 / henry.norman@vosa.gov.uk, or Zita Galambosi on 0117 954 2561 / zita.galambosi@vosa.gov.uk.
Could you please send the published version of any articles about VOSA to press@vosa.gov.uk, VOSA, Berkeley House, Croydon Street, Bristol, BS5 0DA, or fax them to 0117 9543303. Many thanks.
Page last updated: 14/11/2006