Max Sugarman, chief executive of Intelligent Transport Systems UK (ITS UK), calls for steps to be taken to protect the UK's road enforcement market and to ensure the public is protected with the latest safety technology.
Enforcement technology plays an essential role in maintaining a safe road network and helping to reduce casualties.
Behind the technology, there is also a globally-regarded UK industry, one that is continuing to innovate through AI, data and machine learning to ensure our roads are as safe as possible.
The enforcement technology industry has been facing a significant challenge; however, with the process by which their products are approved.
Known as Home Office Type Approval or HOTA, all enforcement technology must pass this approval process before evidence from enforcement devices can be admissible in UK courts without a witness testimony.
It is right that new enforcement products go through HOTA – and that it is a rigorous and independent process to ensure these products work.
Yet, in recent years getting HOTA approval has become slower and slower, with manufacturers now reporting delays of between three and five years to get products approved. What's more, even minor changes to current equipment can require HOTA approval, meaning small widget changes can require products to go through the entire lengthy process again.
This is having a real impact on a leading sector for the UK.
Manufacturers are reporting that the process for approvals has become so difficult that they are considering halting investment in the enforcement sector, reducing spending on R&D and even cutting jobs. Some have reported that their position in the UK market is at stake.
Not only does the UK risk seeing the diminishing of a key industry, we risk losing our status as an international leader in enforcement technology. And more important than all these points, the safety of road users is reduced when the sector doesn't have the ability to get new products onto the network.
So what needs to change? ITS UK, the industry association for transport technology, has been calling on the Home Office and Dstl, the body that runs HOTA on behalf of the Government to meet with manufacturers to resolve this issue.
We believe there are four key steps:
First, we need to set up a regular dialogue between assessors and manufacturers, which took place several years ago but has since stopped. More dialogue will help both sides better understand the process and overcome challenges to getting products approved.
Secondly, the Home Office and Dstl should look to set out clear timelines for approval for applications, so manufacturers know how long a process should, on average, take. Timelines would help manufacturers with business planning, as they'd have an indication of when a product was likely to get approval, and would encourage applications to be delivered in a set and reasonable timeframe.
Thirdly, given the need for products with minor modifications to be reapproved, there should be a fast-track process for minor changes so they can be agreed quickly.
And finally, there should be an update to the SpeedMeter Handbooks, which contain out-of-date information and guidance for manufacturers to follow. The handbook should be changed to align with existing standards and it should concentrate on the requirements for the record produced by the equipment, rather than how the equipment operates.
None of these changes would impact the HOTA process itself, or its ability to rigorously assess enforcement technology. These changes would, however, provide major benefits to enforcement technology manufacturers and their ability to get new equipment on the road and, ultimately, support a safer road network.
You can find out more about ITS UK's ‘Let's Get HOTA Working' Campaign here
