26-09-06 VOSAs Viper Victorious
VIPER*, VOSA’s new system that incorporates ANPR and WIMS technology, has won the ITS United Kingdom (the Intelligent Transport Society for the UK) Technology Award for Excellence. The award will be officially made to VOSA and its partners, Civica and Applied Traffic, by former Transport Minister Steven Norris, at the prestigious ITS World Congress held in London’s Excel Conference Centre on 12 October.
Automatic Number Plate Recognition and Weigh In Motion Sensors play an important part in VOSA’s move towards targeted enforcement. By integrating these technologies, offending vehicles can be specifically and accurately identified for possible action from a remote location, dramatically cutting the need to inconvenience law-abiding drivers.
This new technology has already surpassed expectations, with a recent pilot recording an impressive 700% increase in identifying and prohibiting overweight vehicles. As a result, up to 14 VIPER sites are currently being identified and installed across the UK motorway network; more will follow.
Stephen Tetlow, VOSA’s Chief Executive, said: “Using this technology gives us the ability to target unsafe vehicles accurately and consistently, which not only improves road safety but also reduces the burden on law-abiding operators. Winning this award reflects the hard work of the VOSA team and our partners in introducing the new system.”
* Vehicle Identification & Pre-selection Enforcement Resource
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NOTES TO EDITOR:
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.
Civica plc (www.civica.co.uk), which includes Comino, is a market leader in consulting, software and managed services for the public sector. The group, which employs approximately 1000 people, has a 20-year history of supplying local government, police, criminal justice, education and healthcare organisations in the UK, Australia and the USA. Customers supplied include approximately 89 per cent of the UK’s local authorities together with more than 200 councils in Australia. The group also counts approximately 85 per cent of UK police forces, 250 NHS Trusts and over 30 Local Education Authorities amongst its customers.
For media enquiries about Civica, please contact: Daniel Twigg on 0161 4356460/ daniel@chameleonpr.com
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: 04/10/2006