The Transport Technology Forum is advising traffic signals engineers and local authority staff to take sensible precautions after reports of harassment linked to conspiracy theories about traffic signal detection technology.
The advice has been issued following recent incidents in Lincolnshire and elsewhere in the UK, where traffic signal sensors have been vandalised by people falsely claiming the equipment is intended for surveillance or other sinister purposes. Lincolnshire County Council recently condemned the deliberate damage to sensors in Sleaford, which cost around £8,000 to repair, while similar attacks have been reported elsewhere.
The issue has now gone beyond damage to equipment, with evidence emerging of highways professionals being targeted personally, with reports that traffic signals engineers and local authority officers are being harassed simply for doing their jobs. Incidents have been reported of people trying to identify staff, digging for personal information and approaching officers while they are carrying out work on site.
Officers from Lincolnshire County Council stressed that the technology installed on traffic signals is designed simply to improve the operation of junctions by detecting approaching vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians so signals can respond more efficiently.
Typically Microwave Vehicle Sensors or MVDs, these sensors are not in any way surveillance devices but are there to make journeys safer, reduce unnecessary delays and help vulnerable road users cross the road safely. They use well-established technology that has been in use for many years.
Organisations involved in the traffic signals sector are encouraged to review the information they publish publicly about operational personnel and should carefully consider how much information is made publicly available about staff members who work on the network. This includes consideration of whether names need to appear on public-facing documents or social media and ensuring engineers working on site remain aware of their surroundings if they encounter aggressive or confrontational behaviour.”
The overwhelming majority of the public understood the purpose of the technology and supported the work of highways teams and see traffic signals engineers as dedicated professionals whose job is to keep people moving safely and efficiently. The sector must take precautions to ensure our staff do not face intimidation or harassment for maintaining traffic signals or installing technology that benefits everyone who uses the road network.
Lincolnshire County Council has called for the public not to be misled by false claims surrounding the technology after conspiracy theorists vandalised sensors at traffic signals in Sleaford. The council warned that damaging the equipment reduces the efficiency of junctions and can have wider safety implications.
(Picture – TTF)
