108 | TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT
Route Zero
The end point of Vision Zero – the day road deaths are a thing of the past – may be some years off, but a project in Latvia is proving that ‘route zeros’ are now possible Words | Aigars Jaundalders, Squalio Cloud Consulting, Latvia
Speed enforcement is typically perceived as a way to profit from drivers, leading to negative publicity and public opinion. However, projects in Latvia are proving its image can be considerably improved. Since introducing a next-generation speed enforcement camera network in 2015, Latvia has seen a substantial decrease in traffic accident related injuries (-73%) and the number of serious traffic accidents (-70%) in areas controlled by speed cameras. Most importantly, in the areas where speed cameras have been placed, there have since been no road traffic fatalities connected to speeding. This success cannot be attributed to a single factor, rather it is because of a set of coordinated activities and a smart
Intertraffic World | Annual Showcase 2018
73%
instruments of enforcement roll-out of technological and profit to ones that solutions. Starting at improve road safety. the top, the political leadership for this project was assumed New back office The reduction in by the Ministry To ensure the traffic-related injuries in of Transportation maximum efficiency Latvia since the installation and Road Traffic and flexibility of the Safety Directorate. solution, a dedicated of a new speed camera Working closely back-office service, enforcement network with law-enforcement provisioned in the agencies, they created cloud, was deployed. in 2015 a national program for This service provides 24/7 deployment of speed monitoring and maintenance cameras, as well as a series of of the camera network, public education campaigns. These resolution of any network issues (with made a significant contribution to changing any of the involved parties, including power the public perception of such projects – utilities and mobile network operators), which went from viewing them simply as automated data ingest from cameras,
