Information regarding the compliance of Sicore II, Speed Camera, ANPR Signs
Request ID: FOI-1930-2324 Date published: 24 October 2023
You asked
Transport for London, and the Mayor of London have installed over 2000 new ULEZ Enforcement Camera as part of the Greater London Expansion effective August 29th 2023.
Information from the Manufacturer of the Sicore II ULEZ Cameras, Siemens (Yandex). States in the Sicore II Operation Handbook Issue 2, Jan 18th states the following:
"3.2.2. Vision Processing
The vision engine takes the image stream and tracks vehicles through the area defined as a region of interest. With the cameras running at 25fps, the vehicle will be captured many times and each time the vision engine enhances its understanding about the speed and direction of travel of the vehicle.
Using details about the installation geometry, the camera interprets the 2D image into a 3D model of the world and therefore produces an accurate track of the vehicle for further video analytics. Once the vehicle leaves the region of interest, the vision engine selects candidates as close as possible to the base line.
Thanks to the accuracy of the vision engine and mapping the 2D view to the 3D real world
view, Sicore II can calculate the speed of vehicles that pass the camera (subject to an
optional licence).
The vision processing module can be configured to operate in visual trigger mode, external trigger mode or a combination of both."
I ask under the Freedom of Information Act the following:
As confirmed by the Manufacturer. The embedded systems of the camera, that can not be separated in its live operation, is a speed camera.
1. I ask under FOI by what information, documents does it have, to have lawful authority Transport of London assume to NOT to be bound to UK Speed Camera regulations?
2. If the SICORE II Camera has an embedded capability as a speed camera, what information, documents does it have that it is not a speed Camera subject to UK Law and Speed Camera regulations?
3. I ask Transport for London (TfL) to provide information regarding the compliance of the low emission zone signs with regulations or the sufficiency of the information displayed on them.
4. I ask Transport for London (TfL) to provide information regarding the compliance of Sicore II ANPR camera for use in the UK with regulations or the sufficiency to be lawful in use.
We answered
TfL Ref: 1930-2324 Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 4 September 2023 asking for information about the Sicore II ULEZ Cameras. Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Environmental Information Regulations and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold the information you require. You asked for: 1. I ask under FOI by what information, documents does it have, to have lawful authority Transport of London assume to NOT to be bound to UK Speed Camera regulations? TfL is permitted to use CCTV as a method of enforcement under various road traffic legislation. Our legislative framework is available here: https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/how-we-work/corporate-governance/legislative-framework However, the Metropolitan Police and the City of London Police carry out enforcement for offences detected by speed cameras. Further information about police action for speeding can be found on the Metropolitan Police website and the City of London Police website. 2. If the SICORE II Camera has an embedded capability as a speed camera, what information, documents does it have that it is not a speed Camera subject to UK Law and Speed Camera regulations? The SICORE II cameras are not used to monitor and report the speed of a vehicle. As mentioned previously, speed enforcement is a criminalised offence enforced by the Police. We therefore do not use the cameras to gather information about a vehicle’s speed. We do gather data, such as the direction of the vehicle, to assist with the enforcement of our various schemes. 3. I ask Transport for London (TfL) to provide information regarding the compliance of the low emission zone signs with regulations or the sufficiency of the information displayed on them. All signage is legal and complies with the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 (TSRGD). To ensure consistency with our other Road User Charging Schemes, such as the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) and Congestion Charge, we have followed the same principles for our signage since 2003. The Department for Transport (DfT) authorised the designs. During the design stage, (which took place in 2017, and which included liaison with the DfT as referenced above), we considered the use of additional messaging to that which was eventually agreed, including the potential to add instructions about paying charges. However, there is only a limited amount of messaging that can be placed on a traffic sign which can be safely read and assimilated by drivers moving at speed.
There is a large range of information that drivers need to know about the ULEZ scheme in terms of compliance, enforcement and payments, that it is not practical to include on a single sign. We therefore had to select the most appropriate communication channels to help drivers fully understand the scheme, and our traffic signing strategy forms part of that. This was discussed and agreed with the DfT. The main decisions and agreement with the DfT around signage happened when the original central London ULEZ was introduced and the same principles were then followed as the scheme expanded to the area within the North/South Circular in 2021, and most recently to cover all London boroughs. 4. I ask Transport for London (TfL) to provide information regarding the compliance of Sicore II ANPR camera for use in the UK with regulations or the sufficiency to be lawful in use. Please see our answer to Q1 above. In addition, information on how the cameras are used to support the operation of road user charging schemes in compliance with data protection legislation is available on our website using the following links: https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/privacy-and-cookies/cctv https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/privacy-and-cookies/road-user-charging#on-this-page-5 If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me. Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed. Yours sincerely Jasmine Howard FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
