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August 19, 2016

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Tollgate camera targets suspended drivers

A new smart camera system near highway tollgates and police inspection stations alerts the authorities when a motorist is driving with full demerits or a suspended license, officials said yesterday.

In the three months since it was introduced, 55 drivers have been caught, and officials said they intend to expand the system to include surveillance cameras across the city.

The drivers were spotted by high-resolution cameras installed about 1 or 2 kilometers ahead of the tollgates and stations.

To determine the identity of the driver behind the wheel, the system, which is preloaded with information on car plates, automatically matches the real-time picture of the motorist taken by the camera against their profile picture. If the result shows they are similar, police officers will visually confirm the match.

Once they have confirmation, police officers at the sites will be directed by their backroom colleagues to stop the driver when they pass through.

Among the 55 drivers intercepted, 39 were illegally driving with 12 demerits on their licenses.

According to the law, they are required to take a written exam before they hit the road again. Sixteen were driving with suspended or revoked licenses, among whom five tested positive for drugs.

The 39 drivers have had their licenses suspended, and the rest were detained for up to 15 days, said police. The drug users were sent to rehab.

“It’s easier to catch drivers when they drive through tollgates and police inspection stations because they have to stop or slow down, and also we have policemen working there 24/7,” said Qi Yue of Shanghai Traffic Police’s technology department.

At Gaojing Drug Rehab in the northern part of the city, a man surnamed Shen yesterday said that he was shocked when he was stopped by the police at the Jinze traffic inspection station on G50 Huyu Highway on July 4.

“I never thought I would be busted for drugs while driving,” said Shen, whose license was revoked in January because he was found to be taking drugs.




 

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