GATSOS GOTCHA

These devices are not at all like the Red-Light Cameras that have created so much controversy in the U.S.

ISRAELI POLICE TURN TO HIGH-TECH TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT TOOLS
State-of-the-art speed cameras expected to net over a million traffic tickets per year, including tickets for red-light runners

By Daniel Schmil

Haaretz Daily
January 11, 2012

Drive too fast over two metal sensors hidden in the pavement and first you'll see a bright flash in your rearview mirror. Then, within 96 hours, you'll get a traffic ticket in the mail, not only accusing you of speeding but proving it with a photograph. The fine can be anywhere from NIS 250 to NIS 750, depending on how egregiously you broke the law. What are your chances of winning an appeal? Not good.

Barring any additional delays, in two weeks the Israel Police's spanking new speed cameras will come online and the traffic tickets will start to flow. The cameras are called Gatsos, after their Dutch manufacturer, the traffic-enforcement company Gatsometer.

Unlike the traffic cameras we all know and fear, Gatsos don't use radar, lasers or any other form of radiation aimed at cars. The whole system is based on metal strips with sensors hidden in the road. The faster you drive, the less time it takes for the front wheels to pass over the two strips. The cameras are also more advanced. Because of the system's accuracy, its findings will be harder to appeal.

Within three years the police intend to deploy 300 Gatsos nationwide, 100 of them catching errant drivers speeding through intersections, or running red lights. (Think about it: the same technology still applies. In the case of red lights, the speed at which the driver passes over the two sensors doesn't matter: the fact that he passes at all means he's sinning. ) The other 200 Gatsos will be devoted solely to catching speeders.

The cameras' resolution is a hefty 12 megapixels, which means the pictures are all but unassailable. The photos are transmitted immediately to the police, where a human team confirms that a traffic offense has been committed.

Replacing Israel's speed-trap systems wasn't a casual idea. The 300 units cost NIS 147 million, and their operation over ten years will cost another NIS 450 million. The thought, however, is that the Gatsos may return the investment at the same speed with which Israelis take to the highway: extreme.

It's not rocket science. For one thing, each camera can take two photographs per second. Additionally, the police are confident the Gatsos will catch almost all errant drivers. In other words this system alone can produce 1.25 million tickets a year, thereby generating income of about NIS 875 million a year.

Given the almost inconceivably enormous number of tickets and commensurate boost to the state's revenues, one almost overlooks the fact that this blessing depends on drivers misbehaving, and that the ultimate purpose isn't to beef up the state's coffers, it's to reduce the incidence of traffic violations.

So, do the Gatso systems really change bad habits on the road? Or are they just a clever way to squeeze more money out of Yossi Israeli?

"There is no argument over the system's efficacy," says Dr. Shai Sofer, the chief scientist at the National Road Safety Authority. Studies around the world have demonstrated a significant decrease in speeding and accidents thanks to the cameras, he avers. Britain stopped using Gatsos entirely because they worked so well that the investment had been returned and new tickets were slowing, he says. Maybe in Israel, it will be like the campaign against picking rare wildflowers, says Sofer: "There's no need to advertise any more, because nobody picks them."

It is important for the public to see the system as a good thing, says Sofer, which can be done, for instance, by assurance that all money from fines will be used for road-safety purposes.

Shmuel Abuav, chairman of the Or Yarok (Green Light ) association, is worried about the implications if antagonism toward the Gatsos develops. He is also unconvinced that the government won't expropriate the income for other uses, rendering proceeds from the system as just another tax.

Two weeks before the system goes live, neither the Interior Ministry nor the police are revealing where the cameras are. The only information is from drivers who saw a Gatso and told their friends on social networks or through cellular applications such as Waze (a mobile navigation tool for smartphones ).

Nor will the police say at what speeds exactly the cameras swing into action. Right now, informally but very clearly, drivers are given a grace of 10 kilometers per hour over the speed limit. Which means, a cop won't give you a ticket on a highway where the speed limit is 100 kph if you drive at 110 kph. At 115 kph, he will. That isn't because the enforcement authorities have soft, forgiving hearts. It's because of the speed guns' margin of error. If the speed offense falls within the margin of error, it's hard to defend the ticket in court.

What will the policy be regarding the new, highly accurate machines? That remains to be seen.