Terminal for faster ticketing of traffic violations?

Hello

Over here, to issue parking fines, authorities mostly use the ol' paper + pen solution (with the according pathetic productivity) while a few use hand-held computers that 1) still require them to enter license plates manually and 2) won't let them take a picture although it can prove to be useful in court in case drivers object to their fine:

https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/media/36...ariation_1.jpg

I was wondering if someone knew of manufacturers of such hand-held computers that could 1) take a picture, 2) extract the license plate number from the picture with manual validation by the user, 3) pick an offense from a given list, and 4) send the whole thing OTA to servers?

Even better : are there hardware/software open-source solutions that could drive down the price?

Thank you.

I am willing to bet that we could work up a cell phone app for that.
Alternative, an android app that would work on cell phones, tablets, or RPIE3 with the right attachments and case.

There may be a couple of issues:
1. in most places you MUST provide a paper citation, so some kind of portable printer may be involved. (Else you are back to transcribing into a pad anyway.) Certified mail delivery after the citation is issued may be an option in some places.
2. Generally, a signature (or two) is a legal requirement. (most often on all copies of the paper mentioned above) and that part of the code is generally NOT been changed to allow for digital signatures.

In other words, a change or two in the code may be required, or specialized equipment, or both.

Very doable. I suggest that preparing the hardware and software as a proof of concept would make driving the code changes easier. It would also require exactly the research needed to prepare the budgeting estimates that are going to be requested as soon as you talk to whatever political body would have to approve the code change.

In politics and law, it is always well to have your duck in a row!

Thanks for the info. I was looking into this as a proof-of-concept to propose to authorities to increase productivity.

This has been around for a while. In the US there are high speed cameras which capture license plates of a row of parked cars and processes that, the end result are alerts sent back to the police cruiser to inform it about some other violation of note. Similarly they'll capture other cars just on the road and if something like a plate is expired, it will alert the officer and they can choose to act upon it.

I know firsthand of two cases where this happened.

So whatever software you're talking about, already exists, at least in professional, law enforcement form. Seems like you're seeking for something open source.

Open-source or just cheaper.

Otherwise, I don't understand why those aren't more widespread, which allows drivers to violate parking or speed limits.

littlebigman,

Thanks for the info. I was looking into this as a proof-of-concept to propose to authorities to increase productivity.

You are going to be hugely popular with UK drivers.

I just care that they follow the rules of the road and don't run me over when I ride my bike.

littlebigman,

I just care that they follow the rules of the road and don't run me over when I ride my bike.

I ride a bike and I could not agree with you more.

However, the topic for discussion was parking, not inconsiderate driving.

Originally Posted by beachboy2 I ride a bike and I could not agree with you more. However, the topic for discussion was parking, not inconsiderate driving.

Well they also talked about speed limits.

Originally Posted by littlebigman Open-source or just cheaper. Otherwise, I don't understand why those aren't more widespread, which allows drivers to violate parking or speed limits.

wpeckham covered a lot of points well in the very first reply by pointing out that staging this and demonstrating it properly for the law makers and law enforcers is a good idea to attain adoption of your ideas. Because this all has a lot to do with acceptance in the court of law, not just having the technical capabilities to take tons of accurate video.

The point there being that no matter how good you make your system, if the lawmakers haven't agreed that your submitted content is legally obtained and legal proof of a violation, then you could be standing alone, reporting tons of violations, but with no notice of that being taken by anyone empowered to write citations.

the philly parking authority on the a&e show parking wars has this. they drive down the block in a tow truck with a video recorder and if one of the license plates dings then they tow it (most of the time the owner comes out and an altercation ensues).

they dont mention the software but from the screenshots it seems windows based.

i would assume england has red-lite cameras/speed cameras; i think i read somewhere that every square mile in england has a surveillance camera ?

Originally Posted by rtmistler This has been around for a while. In the US there are high speed cameras which capture license plates of a row of parked cars and processes that, the end result are alerts sent back to the police cruiser to inform it about some other violation of note. Similarly they'll capture other cars just on the road and if something like a plate is expired, it will alert the officer and they can choose to act upon it. I know firsthand of two cases where this happened. So whatever software you're talking about, already exists, at least in professional, law enforcement form. Seems like you're seeking for something open source.

Damn technology gone too far, in my book.

Originally Posted by BW-userx Damn technology gone too far, in my book.

I felt the same way being a scooter tramp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvGIne1PPx0

https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...+wars+season+3

Riding motorcycle in the desert. Parking spots are not a problem of mine. Seems to be a civilization thing.

@side-topic, was back in like the early 80s we had a coworker who was miffed beyond belief that he'd see State Police patrolmen traveling rather fast on the major highways. The normal early commute time and the proximity of this guy's commute to the police barracks had possible impact. It was near shift change time and patrolmen need to be back for swapping out cars, etc.

So this coworker spent all morning trying to call the State Police and get his complaints in. Amazingly (NOT!) nobody seemed to care, and he had the car number, the plate, etc. Said he followed the cop for about 10 miles going 85+ MPH in a 55 zone and he was all mad. We just sort of shook our heads because we knew it was typical for this guy.

I also had a friend who was not a cop, but worked for them and once had a state cruiser in lieu of a work truck, until the truck could be configured. They told him to go down the left lane, not go crazy, but not spare the horses and not go the speed limit because if he did, everyone on the road would be scared seeing the cruiser and it would be the same effect as a moving road block and thus possibly cause more danger if instead he went slow in the right hand lane. So he drove down the left lane, everyone got out of his way and that was that.

If you want to police the world, then join up and be a cop. But don't be surprised if they tether your behaviors in a bit once you do become one.

Originally Posted by rokytnji I felt the same way being a scooter tramp https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvGIne1PPx0 https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...+wars+season+3 Riding motorcycle in the desert. Parking spots are not a problem of mine. Seems to be a civilization thing.

which has nothing to do with "right or wrong" it is only all about the Money. get a ticket. pay the money the money goes to pay the people that give out the tickets. it is just a vicious cycle for the most part. lol has nothing to do with "right or wrong" justice or any of that.. just about the money the city can get out of its citizens.

impound the car they get more money...

Originally Posted by BW-userx which has nothing to do with "right or wrong" it is only all about the Money. get a ticket. pay the money the money goes to pay the people that give out the tickets. it is just a vicious cycle for the most part. lol has nothing to do with "right or wrong" justice or any of that.. just about the money the city can get out of its citizens. impound the car they get more money...

Perhaps in some places. In the state I grew up in (not the one I live in now) none of the money for citations went to the PD or state. It all went to the local county or city court system, with a percentage going into the general fund. There was no personal incentive for the officer to write a citation or warning, and while auto impound was rare, impound fees went to cover costs and into the park district funds.

Not much about the money, more about the stupid. If you were doing something so stupid that you got a tow or ticket, you deserved it. No officer WANTED to give a ticket, because every case meant more paperwork and a lot of the court time came out of non-paid time. While I have heard that the state has since revised the code so that officers cannot be made to serve court time without pay, no one joined the PD to spend time in court. Also, that change came about only in the last few years. Officers do not get paid well, in general, and tickets only help is states with stupid legislators: officers are in it for that whole "serve and protect" thing!

If I get a ticket, and they can automate things to speed up the process so I can get on with my day faster, I am all for that. If I can not deserve or get a ticket, even better.