Evaluation of low-cost GNSS receivers for speed monitoring

Abstract

Accidents caused by exceeding the driving speed limit are one of the main reasons for premature deaths and permanent injuries worldwide. As such, the search for actions seeking to reduce traffic accidents or their severity becomes increasingly crucial as these accidents become more relevant. The objective of this work is to present a low-cost solution based on the GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) technology for vehicle monitoring and detection of road sections where drivers exceed speed limits. This allows classifying roads by their driver’s behavior, helping traffic authorities to manage these road sections. For this purpose, two devices were developed to measure GPS speed and to ensure the same tracking conditions for these devices. A fixing structure was built to accommodate the devices as well as a smartphone, which recorded the speedometer on video. Considering that the spatial data analysis showed no significant difference in speed measurements, the device can be chosen by the lowest cost. The comparison of measured speeds with devices in relation to speeds considered by traffic laws showed that device present values are closer to the vehicle speedometer (mainly at slower speeds). These results indicate that the sensation of speed difference on the part of the driver is considerable, and that tolerances established by the legislation need to be revised so as not to cause a feeling of impunity. Therefore, the use of low-cost GNSS receivers in automatic speed control and monitoring applications in road vehicles shows great potential. It is of great value especially on roads with tracking conditions similar to our experiments. This potential can be explored by educational measures to modify the road geometric designs where excesses are frequently identified.