Cameras Discussion View history

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Waze supports numerous types of cameras and can provide client alerts when approaching a validated camera installation.


Know your Cameras

Also known as "What is NOT a Red Light Camera".

Before adding any cameras to the Waze map, you must be sure you are accurately reporting a camera installation. Many devices may have similar appearances but very different functions.

Signal Preemption Systems

Traffic signal preemption is a type of system that allows the normal operation of traffic lights to be preempted, often to assist emergency vehicles. A very common system in the United States is the Opticom™ system by Global Traffic Technologies (GTT).

These devices have a few things in common:

  1. They are small and compact
  2. They are mounted facing the traffic they are monitoring
  3. They are typically mounted on the structures supporting the traffic signals

Red Light Camera

These cameras monitor an intersection and trigger when traffic proceeds through the intersection on a red signal. One or more approaches to the intersection may be monitored.

Red light cameras have a few main things in common:

  1. They have multiple lenses
  2. They have an external flash
  3. They tend to be bulky
  4. They have at least some equipment located behind the monitored intersection (there may be equipment on the other side of the intersection as well)
  5. They are clearly marked