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HDB goes high-tech to catch motorists evading car park fares by tailgating

SINGAPORE — Errant motorists trying to avoid parking fees by tailgating will soon have to contend with a new Tailgating Detection System (TDS), which will be installed at selected public car parks from 2018.

The new Tailgating Detection System relies on sensors and cameras to measure the distance between vehicles as they approach the car park gantries and record video footage once tailgating is detected. Photo: Jason Quah/TODAY

The new Tailgating Detection System relies on sensors and cameras to measure the distance between vehicles as they approach the car park gantries and record video footage once tailgating is detected. Photo: Jason Quah/TODAY

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SINGAPORE — Motorists trying to avoid parking fees by tailgating will soon have to contend with a new Tailgating Detection System, which will be installed at selected public car parks from next year.

The system, which was piloted at two car parks by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) in May this year, can also detect motorcycles that bypass gantries without paying their parking charges.

The six-month trial at the surface car park of Blks 1, 3 and 8 St George’s Road and the multi-storey car park at Blk 177A Lompang Road netted 130 vehicles that tailgated or bypassed the gantries at two car parks – an average of one offender nearly every day.

The 130 motorists were issued summons, the HDB said on Wednesday (Dec 27).  

The Tailgating Detection System uses sensors, cameras and video analytics.

The sensors measure the distance between vehicles as they approach the car park gantries, while the cameras instantly record footage — including the vehicle’s details, date and time of the incident — once a possible tailgating incident is detected.

HDB personnel will then be alerted to review the camera footage.

Previously, officers had to identify such errant motorists through a manual process that could take several hours. They had to scan CCTV footage and check the vehicles’ payment records.

The portable system will be implemented from the second half of next year in HDB’s car parks with Electronic Parking Systems (EPS), where a higher number of tailgaters have been observed. Out of about 2,000 car parks managed by HDB, about 1,600 use the EPS.

The cost of the rollout has not been finalised, said a HDB spokesperson.   

Fees at HDB car parks installed with EPS are calculated when a vehicle exits the car park, based on the entry and exit records collected from their in-vehicle unit at the respective gantries.

When a motorist tailgates another vehicle, no exit record is registered, enabling fare evasion to take place.

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