A premiere not only in Romania, but also in Europe: the first speed limiter with sensors was installed near Bucharest. When a driver exceeds the speed limit, a 6-centimeter threshold rises from the asphalt. The authorities decided to implement this system because of excessive traffic speed. The smart device, brought from Mexico, is still in the testing phase.
The first intelligent speed limiter was installed in front of the school in Ghermanesti. Even though the school is located in the heart of the town and many children and parents cross on the pedestrian crossing, some drivers continue to press the accelerator pedal, ignoring the restrictions imposed. It is equipped with a pre-signal panel located 170 meters away from the pedestrian crossing, a signal panel that warns drivers to slow down, sensors for measuring speed and a metal threshold.
The bumper rises to a height of 6.5 centimeters when sensors in the asphalt detect a speed of more than 30 kilometers per hour, the legal limit near the school. If the drivers drive at an appropriate speed, the limiter lowers into the asphalt.
“There is a ‘Caution, pedestrian crossing’ zone on the roadway. A sensor is mounted in the asphalt exactly there. If it respects the speed, forget it respects it, lights up green, starts to lower the bumper, the traffic participant passes without any problem. Someone came at a very high speed, even with a jeep and than he ran over him, it’s really not ok for the car, but the car kept its normal trajectory” said Mihai Anghel, the mayor of Snagov commune for stirileprotv.ro.
If the prototype proves effective, there’s a good chance we’ll see this bumper model installed in many other cities across the country, especially in school zones and where accidents have been caused by excessive speed on stretches of road with speed limits.
Although the technology originates from Mexico, it was brought to Europe by a Romanian. The estimated cost of installing a smart speed limiter in one direction would be approximately 130,000 lei. However, the device installed in Ghermanesti was implemented free of charge, as part of a pilot project.
Juan Carlos, the founder of the project in Mexico, told stirileprotv.ro what impact the limiter had in Mexico: “In one area, accidents occurred every week. After installing the smart limiter, there were no more accidents at all. The behavior of drivers has changed. At the beginning, 90% of them did not respect the speed limit in that area, and two months after the installation, 90% of them already respected the rules”.
The smart speed limiter made the first victim
On Wednesday, April 8, there was a traffic accident near the smart speed limiter. According to the images published on the Facebook page of Info Trafic Romania, the driver seems to have lost control of the car before reaching the speed limiter, hit the dividing poles in the pre-signaling area and then entered a sign placed on the sidewalk.
According to the Ilfov County Police Inspectorate, the accident occurred due to speed. The traffic police from Snagov fined the driver 990 lei.
