Traffic Management

(a) Identify two possible ways that the road sensors can detect the passing of
a vehicle. [2 marks]

One possible way that the road sensor can detect the passing of a vehicle is through the use of a video camera. It can take a video of the car passing to see if it is going the speed limit, and if it is not it can get its plate and registration. Another way is through radar guns that record the speed of passing cars. This will tell if a vehicle is passing by, and also its speed.

(b) Describe two ways in which the active traffic management systems could help to
decrease journey times. [4 marks]

One way that active traffic management systems can help to decrease journey times is through the use of the sensors to show the traffic on the roads. This would help reduce journey times because people would use other roads, in which the traffic is less so that they will not lose time being stuck in traffic. Another way that active traffic management systems can help to decrease journey times is through the changing of the speed limit depending on the congestion. Therefore, if there is less congestion the speed limit will be higher and the journey time will decrease.

(c) Explain how the images from the digital speed cameras can be used to send
penalty notices to speeding drivers automatically. [4 marks]

The images from the digital speed cameras can be used to send penalty notices to speeding drives automatically by first obtaining the plate number of the vehicle. This plate number can be queried to find the owner of the car and his or her address, or even the email of the person. From there, a notice can be sent either electronically, or the address can be added to a list of people who need to be mailed a fine.

(d) Discuss how the active traffic management system could be abused by the authorities.

The active traffic management system could be abused by the authorities in many ways. The authorities could send out tickets for people who are going less than the declared limit. The driver has no evidence that they were not going that speed limit so they would not be able to dispute the ticket. Another way that authorities could abuse the traffic system is through using the cameras to see what the people in the cars are doing as well. This would not necessarily be a bad thing, as the cameras would show if the person is talking on the phone or texting while they are driving. Another way the authorities could abuse this system is by lowering the speed limit so low that the drivers are more likely to break the speed limit. This way, they could ticket more people automatically and therefore make more money. This is taking advantage of the driver of the car. Another way is by fluctuating the speed limits so the driver is not able to change the speed of their car in time for the camera. They would be ticketed for speeding whether it was unintentional or not.