Kent County Council has started to crack down on reckless drivers who break the speed limits and breach road safety requirements within the region.
The council has rolled out Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera technology which could see drivers face £70 fines if they are caught breaking a number of road rules.
The penalty will be reduced to £35 if paid within 21 days of receiving the ticket with the Council hoping the fines will encourage drivers to act more responsibly.
The camera will help the highway network be more effectively managed and allow traffic to move more efficiently, the council detailed.
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The cameras will be placed at any location where drivers are likely to get away with infringements
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It will monitor drivers who go through a "no entry" sign, turn left or right when instructed not to do so and enter yellow box junctions when their exit is not clear.
It will also take photos of driving who go where motor vehicles are prohibited and drive on routes for buses only.
Enforcing these regulations aims to improve road safety, pollution levels, journey time reliability and public realms in locations with low compliance.
The council outsourced the implementation to Marston Holdings which will supply the cameras and associated hardware on site, the back-office computer system and debt recovery.
The Kent County Council documents stated: “[The cameras will be placed] at any location where it is felt that compliance could be achieved through reasonable improvements to the highway or to traffic signing alone, such improvements should be made.
“Once the camera has registered a contravention, the back-office system processes the information and identifies whether the vehicle is on an allowed list.
“This is a list of the registration plates of authorised vehicles, in which case no further action is taken. If the plate is not on the allowed list, the system sends the captured evidence for review.
“At this stage, a member of the team assesses the evidence to establish if a contravention has occurred.”
The cameras are operated using artificial intelligence and are programmed to catch drivers breaking the law when on the road, according to the documents.
CCTV cameras to monitor drivers have been in place in Dartford since 1996, with 21 cameras covering the town centre.
The council reported that within the first year of operation, the police saw a 33 per cent reduction in crime, with the new cameras hoping to have a much bigger impact.
As of 2021, there are 79 cameras within Dartford across the town centre and Acacia Hall site.
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Drivers will be slapped with a £70 charge if they are caught breaking the law
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Kent Police are responsible for collecting road traffic collision data for Kent. Each collision record contains over 60 items of statistical data.
