By reading the Kapsch Com.(hence KC) website(slow as hell), I gathered the following basic principles of how it "actually" works from reading
their brochure:
SANRAL needs to keep an additional database of all the registration details of all the vehicles it intends to process and synchronize it periodically with a master(read: national). This is, as KC's brochure explains, "a subset of the data contained in the national vehicle registration database". I hope that this database is maintained locally at a premise of SANRAL and not by KC, since if it is, it means that our private information is being sent off to another country(I doubt this is the case anyhow).
Furthermore, the e-Tag that they expect you to buy is "personalized" with your own vehicle's data(read: database) and "a new vehicle record is created in the database". What they mean by the record, IMO, is the e-Tag identification number(every tag will have a unique one). I'm not quite sure why the tags are required - it's not documented anywhere. But, if I had to make a guess it's to allow for easier matching with their system and produce less false-positves(and people with "obscured" plates). IMHO, their playing NSA, whereby they want to keep track of everybody.
KC also documents the routine for people who do not pay, referred to as "non-compliance":
If the Back Office detects a non-compliance (e.g. vehicle tax not paid, technical check-up outdated, etc.) the vehicle is put on a VOSI list and can immediately be identified by the monitoring equipment. In many cases registration non-compliance is not a violation unless there is evidence that the vehicle is used in traffic. The EVR solution hence helps to automatically identify such cases.
If a non-compliance (license plate mismatch or VOSI match) is detected an evidence record is created. In general, this evidence record contains the date, time and location of the vehicle, DSRC data and an ANPR image for the visual identification of the vehicle. This data package is sent to the infringement processing module where the data is processed according to the predefined workflows. These processing workflows can be defined to meet customer needs and legal requirements of the given project. The debt collection can be done by the Kapsch EVR solution or by an external debt collection agency
The exact specifications for the gantries are(from brochure):
- "Transceivers for the reading of the vehicle on-board unit (OBU)"
- "Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras for license plate recognition"
- some sort of "vehicle classification sensors (determining size, shape or class of vehicles)"
These two features work in conjunction with each other to avoid fraud as well(clearly documented).
The e-Tags themselves are CEN TC278 5.8 GHz DSRC transponders:
more info here. I'm not all that up with such devices, maybe someone knowledgeable can explain how it works?
How SANRAL is actually managing this... I'm unsure, as there's no information available anywhere on the Internet. But looking at it, the whole process from the tracking a vehicle at a gantry to sending the event to SANRAL is completely automated.
P.S. These some other nifty things that SANRAL will also be using, like "Portable Monitoring Stations" and such, the brochure is worth a read.
