4Sight Imaging has the vision to make smart motorways more safe.

4Sight Imaging has the vision to make smart motorways more safe.

Yesterday, Highways England (HE) said no more motorways without a hard shoulder would open until radar technology to detect broken-down vehicles is installed.

HE said on Tuesday (April 20) that retrofitting radar SVD to the existing network would be accelerated by six months.

However, as a company pioneering stationary vehicle detection (SVD) systems, we know that existing CCTV cameras could be used immediately as an emergency measure to help save lives on the UK’s network of smart motorways. 4Sight have a system to do this, and it is available NOW as an emergency measure while the radar solution is rolled out.

We have developed software built on patented technology that enables cameras to see and identify vehicles stranded in any of the free-running lanes of the motorways.

Smart motorways have no hard shoulder and are designed to keep traffic moving using variable speed limits aimed at reducing congestion.

But there have been high profile accidents and deaths related to smart motorways which have resulted in serious doubts over their safety.

Danger can be mitigated by rapid detection of stationary vehicles enables emergency services to be deployed to the scene of any breakdown or accident much faster, reducing the likelihood of accidents.

As recently as January 18, 2021, coroner David Urpeth at an inquest in Sheffield said smart motorways contributed to the deaths of two men on a stretch of the M1, saying they presented an “ongoing risk of future deaths”.

Mr Urpeth then wrote to transport secretary Grant Shapps to present his findings.

In March, Mr Shapps commissioned the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to carry out an independent review of safety data for the roads.

4Sight Imaging’s technology offers up high-quality images linked to automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology which could cut the risk to motorists.

As well as 4Sight’s emergency solution, we are also offering to share the ground-breaking technology with future partners in the imaging sector as a way of mitigating the risk to the public.

Our MD, Brook said: “We have technology that can be applied to smart motorways and we are keen to find a way of working with others to deliver it.

“Currently, the human eye is monitoring activity on the UK’s motorways and such a system has proved to be fallible.

“We are unique in that our technology is able to use off-the-shelf CCTV equipment to automatically detect vehicles at a high level of reliability.

“This means, stationary vehicle detection can be done at many more locations cost-effectively, increasing overall detection accuracy and reducing the risk of missing stranded vehicles.

“Application of this approach would release the people now monitoring screens to concentrate on organising rescue strategies for motorists and lorry drivers as quickly as possible to minimise risk.”

The technology is the culmination of years of development and research carried out by our hi-tech team from our base in Bark Street in the centre of Bolton.

And it has enabled our imaging software to become the technology of choice for professional users across the globe, with more than 4,500 parking, security and law enforcement systems in the UK alone.

We also pride ourselves on forging partnerships with other companies who supply products and services to customers or “end users”, original equipment manufacturers and hardware distributors.