New scan cars control up to 1000 cars per hour

For the first time in Germany, scan cars are used against false parkers. Since March, a new law in Baden-Württemberg has been using special vehicles to control parked cars, now a test in the area of ​​the University of Hohenheim is underway. So far, criminal tickets have mostly been distributed by employees of the municipal regulatory services. In the future, smart technology will make their work more efficient.

The vehicles have installed cameras on the roof, with which you can capture the license plates of parked cars when driving past. The license plates are then compared with a database. Controls via scan car work where the parking permissions were previously recorded digitally, as the ministry explains. Normal parking spaces need, for example, parking ticket machines, which users have to enter the license plate of their car when solving a parking ticket. Residents parking cards or special permits must also be recorded digitally.

The scan cars can check whether the driver has solved a parking ticket for a paid parking lot. But you can also recognize false parkers, such as parked vehicles on bike paths and bus traces. “Wedwears, cycling and bus traces, crossing areas and over-the-way can be kept clearer and more efficient,” emphasizes the ministry.

So far, parked cars have been checked in many German cities by employees of the municipal regulatory service. Depending on the city, these are on foot, by bike or with the company car. In Mannheim, for example, around 55 full -time positions are used for this, in Freiburg 29 employees are on the move and check whether there is a parking ticket or a resident parking certificate in the cars. The Scan vehicles should relieve the urban employees in their task but do not replace, according to the Ministry of Transport.

The technology is already being used in France and the Netherlands. The feedback from these countries is consistently positive, said a spokesman for the Ministry of Transport. In Amsterdam, for example, the cost of control of the parking space was reduced by half. The Netherlands also knew that the control forces are exposed to fewer hostility thanks to the technology.

From the point of view of the Ministry of Transport, the great advantage of the scan cars is their efficiency. “A person can control up to 1000 vehicles per hour with a scan vehicle, while they are only about 50 vehicles on foot,” says a spokesman. Cities and municipalities could control their parking space more efficiently. In addition, the ministry promises more traffic safety: if false parkers were found faster, buses, pedestrians or cyclists would be less hindered.

The city of Mannheim hopes for a relaxation with a lack of staff through the vehicles. For several years now, people have had problems with the recruitment of employees for parking control. “An automated system could compensate for this personnel requirement.”

Among the larger cities in the southwest are very interested in the new control. For example, Freiburg plans to participate in a pilot project. The city of Mannheim had registered with the Ministry of Transport as a model city for the introduction of technology, said a spokeswoman. Heidelberg and Heilbronn are currently using the use of such vehicles.

According to the Ministry of Transport, the scanners record a picture of the parked car, the license plate, the location and the time of control. The data of incorrectly parked cars are therefore saved for the duration of the fine procedure and then deleted. The data of cars that are correctly parked are immediately deleted. If the system also detects pedestrians, they are automatically pixelated according to the ministry. If scan vehicles are used, this should be signposted, and the scan vehicles are also recognizable as such by labeling.

The technology in the area of ​​the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart has been tested since mid -April. Since then, a scan car has been checking the six parking zones of the university. According to the Ministry of Transport, the conditions are ideal because drivers have to enter their license plate there when loosening a parking ticket.