LTA updates OBU to include real-time alerts for speed laser cameras and red light cameras

The over-the-air update to the On-Board Unit took effect on July 15, 2024 and makes the OBU's touchscreen display more useful to the driver.

Henceforth, the driver is notified by the in-car OBU touchscreen display when approaching a "Police Camera Zone", which could be a road where speed laser cameras have been deployed or a junction with a red light camera.

The system already notifies the driver while driving towards fixed speed cameras on expressways and certain trunk roads. The relevant speed limit is also displayed as part of the safe-driving message.

For some reason (possibly related to GNSS signal reception), the "Police Camera Zone" notification did not appear when a Motorist team car with an ERP 2.0 OBU approached the speed enforcement cameras at the underground MCE (Marina Coastal Expressway) towards AYE (Ayer Rajah Expressway) on July 15, early evening. 

Incidentally, there is no information on whether the "Police Camera Zone" alert is helpful enough to warn the motorist promptly about locations where different types of cameras could be operational, one after the other. 

For example, a portable speed laser camera could catch drivers who tend to speed up immediately after passing a fixed speed camera.

In this case, would the "Police Camera Zone" warning remain on the OBU display to cover the whole, extended zone in question? Or would there be a real-time break before the OBU alerts the driver about another speed camera coming up unexpectedly?  

The bigger query/worry among motorists, perhaps, is whether this added deterrence against speeding (accidental or otherwise) would develop into full-blown detection by the authorities, with the On-Board Unit for ERP 2.0 ostensibly able to track the vehicle's velocity, wherever and whenever.

This might be just a precarious step away from our roads being policed to the nth degree. 

ALSO READ: ERP 2.0's on-board unit meets international standards, says LTA

This article was first published in Motorist.