SINGAPORE — Average speed cameras, which were deployed along a 4km stretch of Tanah Merah Coast Road in March, will be fully operational in the fourth quarter of this year, the Traffic Police said on Thursday (May 10).

It also announced that starting next month, a new camera system to detect traffic violations will be on trial until September at the cross junction of Thomson Road and Newton Road.

A new camera system to detect traffic violations will be on trial until September at the cross junction of Thomson Road and Newton Road. Photo:Koh Mui Fong/TODAY

Using a 3D laser scanner, this system is able to track the movements of vehicles and automatically detect multiple traffic violations occurring simultaneously.

It will capture the licence plates of errant motorists making illegal u-turns and turns at non-turning lanes, as well as those obstructing the flow of traffic by remaining in the yellow box.

The Thomson Road-Newton Road junction is prone to such violations, the TP said. Nevertheless, no summons will be issued for offenders during the trial period.

On the average speed cameras, the TP said 12 sets have been installed along the accident-prone Tanah Merah Coast Road which has a speed limit of 70 kmh.

Unlike the spot speed cameras that have been used here since 1992, the average speed cameras can compute the average speed of a vehicle within an enforcement zone. Errant motorists will not be able to avoid receiving a ticket by slowing down just before a speed camera, before zooming off right after.

The average speed cameras work by capturing images of a vehicle — along with the date and time — when it enters and leaves the enforcement zone, and uses the information to calculate the average speed of the vehicle.

The move to install these cameras were first announced in February last year, following a trial in 2013.

A TP spokesperson said that Tanah Merah Coast Road, which is frequented by heavy vehicles and cyclists, was chosen because of its susceptibility to speeding and illegal racing.

Apart from enforcing the road speed limit, the spokesperson said the cameras are able to recognise instances where a heavy vehicle such as a tipper truck is going beyond its 60 kmh vehicular speed limit.

Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Sam Tee hopes the new camera system will “shape the behavior of the drivers to drive safely and constantly” within the speed limit.

“If you speed at any point of time (now), then you are likely to be captured,” he said.

The TP also hopes that future deployments of the average speed cameras will help address speeding violations committed along roads that are not suitable for the installation of spot speed cameras.

Apart from being able to capture high quality colour images of the vehicles and automatically recognise licence plates, the average speed cameras can be deployed at most terrains and are not limited by bends or slopes.

On whether these cameras could be installed on other roads in Singapore, SAC Tee said the TP will be “transparent” about any new installations. There will also be sufficient warning signs to remind motorists to slow down and “avoid getting into an accident”, he added.

Average speed cameras have been deployed to much success in other countries, the TP noted.

In the Netherlands, collisions and fatalities due to speeding fell by 47 per cent and 25 per cent respectively, after an enforcement zone was set up in Rotterdam. In Amsterdam, the proportion of vehicles exceeding the speed limit reportedly fell by 90 per cent after the installation of the cameras.

In Scotland, road fatalities across zones regulated by average speed cameras went down by half.