Glasgow City Council has recently taken the step of installing a number of 360-degree cameras onto its food waste recycling vehicles in an attempt to improve safety.
Working with Sentinel Systems, Glasgow City Council decided to opt for the 360 technology system to help improve the safety of their vehicles, particularly around the general public and in the busier areas of Glasgow City Centre.
The council’s food waste vehicles operate in the centre of Glasgow and the suburbs where reversing can at times be challenging.
Sentinel’s 360-degree cameras with inbuilt DVR systems were installed onto 12 of the council’s food waste vehicles, along with the company’s reversing radar systems. These allow pedestrians and cyclists to be alerted when a vehicle is turning left at road junctions, and when it is reversing.
The inbuilt camera and recording systems reduce the risk of accidents, with the capability to record any incidents.
Emil Laiolo from Glasgow City Council commented: “We were looking for a safety system that could easily be installed onto our vehicles, while improving the safety of the city’s more vulnerable residents such as cyclists or the elderly.
“We already have a number of vehicle safety systems installed on our vehicles, and in this instance our contractor advised Sentinel’s products were the best option for our recycling vehicles to benefit both the council and the public.”
He continued, “Our drivers use the systems to help when manoeuvring in the city, which can be a challenge when the roads are busy and the vehicles are moving around in smaller spaces.”
The system
In having Sentinel’s systems installed, the council can prevent accidents caused by large vehicles reversing or manoeuvring in confined spaces. The system comprises side-scanning sensors and cameras, which are installed along the near-side and front-step of the vehicle.
These surrounding areas of a vehicle can be the most common blind spots for cyclists. Sentinel’s visual and audible aids alert the driver to a cyclist’s movement within a predetermined range, encouraging them to take caution.
The system can also warn the cyclist or pedestrian that the vehicle is turning left, triggered by the left-hand indicator, so they can keep at a safe distance from the vehicle and not undertake whilst the vehicle is moving. The system activates whilst the vehicle is travelling under 15mph to prevent false alarms.
The 360-degree surround view camera systems combined with mobile DVRS gives vehicle operators the opportunity to capture up to 30 days of recorded footage, assuring any potential accidents are stored without data loss.
Installed at the rear of the vehicle, the reversing radar systems use advanced UK-manufactured components to offer superior reliability and performance to help mitigate the risk of the vehicle whilst it is reversing.
For more information on Sentinel’s range of cameras visit their website.
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