Monitoring system for driving violations

1 . A sensor-based monitoring system for driving violations of vehicles travelling on a roadway, comprising:

a monitoring vehicle including: at least four presence sensors comprising a first range-finding sensor, a second range-finding sensor, a third range-finding sensor, and a fourth range-finding sensor, at least two digital cameras comprising a first digital camera and a second digital camera, a communication unit, and a computer monitoring unit, wherein the range finding sensors are selected from the group consisting of an ultrasonic sensor, laser sensor, and an infrared sensor;

wherein said monitoring vehicle has a length axis, a width axis, a left front side, a left rear side, a right front side, a right rear side, a front bumper comprising a left front side bumper portion and a right front side bumper portion, and a rear bumper comprising a left rear side bumper portion and a right rear side bumper portion;

wherein said first range-finding sensor is mounted on said left rear side bumper portion, said second range-finding sensor is mounted on said left front side bumper portion, said third range-finding sensor is mounted on said right rear side bumper portion, and said fourth range-finding sensor is mounted on said right front side bumper portion;

wherein said first range-finding sensor and said second range-finding sensor are configured to direct respective electromagnetic beams away from said monitoring vehicle along said width axis on a left side of said monitoring vehicle, and said third range-finding sensor and said fourth range-finding sensor are configured to direct respective electromagnetic beams away from said monitoring vehicle along said width axis on a right side of said monitoring vehicle;

wherein said first digital camera is mounted on said left front side of said monitoring vehicle, and has a field of view directed at 45 degrees relative to said width axis and away from said monitoring vehicle;

wherein said second digital camera is mounted on said right front side of said monitoring vehicle, and has a field of view directed at 45 degrees relative to said width axis and away from said monitoring vehicle;

wherein said computer monitoring unit includes a computer, a digital storage unit, and a global positioning system (GPS) module;

wherein said GPS module is configured to determine estimated velocities of said vehicles on said roadway, a speed limit of said roadway, and a first estimated velocity of said monitoring vehicle, wherein the roadway is a divided highway with opposing lanes of traffic separated by a median;

wherein said computer monitoring unit is operatively connected to a controller area network (CAN) data unit configured to determine a second estimated velocity of said monitoring vehicle; and

wherein said computer monitoring unit is configured to:

receive said first estimated velocity of said monitoring vehicle from said GPS module;

receive said second estimated velocity of said monitoring vehicle from said CAN data unit;

arbitrate said first estimated velocity and said second estimated velocity to determine a corrected velocity, V x , of said monitoring vehicle;

receive visual data from said at least two digital cameras, wherein said at least two digital cameras are each configured to collect said visual data from a respective field of view determined by a respective orientation of each respective digital camera with respect to said monitoring vehicle, and said visual data is images of vehicle license plates that are captured by said at least two digital cameras;

receive timestamp signals from said at least four presence sensors, wherein said at least four presence sensors are each configured to interrogate said vehicles travelling on said roadway with electromagnetic beams, receive said electromagnetic beams returning to at least one of said at least four presence sensors after being reflected from one or more of said vehicles travelling on said roadway, and generate said timestamp signals at each respective time of receiving each of said electromagnetic beams that have been returned;

determine one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle;

determine relative speeds of and distances between said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle relative to each other and relative to said monitoring vehicle based on said timestamp signals, and said corrected velocity, V x , of said monitoring vehicle;

detect whether a first vehicle of said one or more of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle is committing one or more of said driving violations based on said relative speeds of and said distances determined, wherein said driving violations are one or more of speeding, tailgating, street racing, and/or improper passing;

instruct at least one of said at least two digital cameras to take an image of a front license plate of said first vehicle of said one or more of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle when detected as committing one or more of said driving violations; and

instruct said communication unit to transmit a violation report to a transit authority identifying said one or more driving violations and including said image of said front license plate of said first vehicle of said one or more of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle when detected as committing one or more of said driving violations;

wherein determining said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle comprises: receive a first timestamp signal of said timestamp signals, t 1 , as said first vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle passes either said first range-finding sensor mounted on said left rear side bumper portion of said rear bumper of said monitoring vehicle or said third range-finding sensor mounted on said right rear side bumper portion of said rear bumper of said monitoring vehicle;

upon receiving said first timestamp signal of said timestamp signals, t 1 , from said first range-finding sensor, instruct said first digital camera of said at least two digital cameras mounted on said left front side of said monitoring vehicle to take said image of said front license plate of said first vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle;

upon receiving said first timestamp signal of said timestamp signals, t 1 , from said third range-finding sensor, instruct said second digital camera of said at least two digital cameras mounted on said right front side of said monitoring vehicle to take said image of said front license plate of said first vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle; and

receive a second timestamp signal of said timestamp signals, t 2 , as said first vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle passes either said second range-finding sensor mounted on said left front side bumper portion of said front bumper of said monitoring vehicle or said fourth range-finding sensor mounted on said right front side bumper portion of said front bumper of said monitoring vehicle; and

wherein determining said relative speeds of and said distances between said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle comprises: determine a first vehicle velocity, V A1 , of said first vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle based on said corrected velocity V X , said first timestamp signal t 1 from either said first range-finding sensor or said third range-finding sensor, said second timestamp signal t 2 from either said second range-finding sensor or said fourth range-finding sensor, and a know distance d between a corresponding pair of said range-finding sensors, according to: V A1 =V x +d/(t 2 −t 1 ), where d equals a first known distance between said first range-finding sensor and said second range-finding sensor or where d equals a second known distance between said third range-finding sensor and said fourth range-finding sensor;

receive said speed limit of said roadway from said GPS module;

compare said first vehicle velocity, V A1 , of said first vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle to said speed limit of said roadway;

determine that there is not a speeding violation of said driving violations committed by said first vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle if said first vehicle velocity, V A1 , of said first vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle is equal to or is less than said speed limit of said roadway;

determine that there is said speeding violation of said driving violations committed by said first vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle if said first vehicle velocity, V A1 , of said first vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle is greater than said speed limit of said roadway; and

prepare a first vehicle speeding violation report as at least part of said violation report including said first vehicle velocity, V A1 , of said first vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle and said image of said front license plate of said first vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle when determined to be committing said speeding violation of said driving violations.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein said computer monitoring unit is further configured to:

receive a third timestamp signal of said timestamp signals, t 3 , as a second vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle passes either said first range-finding sensor mounted on said left rear side bumper portion of said rear bumper of said monitoring vehicle or said third range-finding sensor mounted on said right rear side bumper portion of said rear bumper of said monitoring vehicle;

upon receiving said third timestamp signal of said timestamp signals, t 3 , from said first range-finding sensor, instruct said first digital camera of said at least two digital cameras mounted on said left front side of said monitoring vehicle to take said image of said front license plate of said second vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle;

upon receiving said third timestamp signal of said timestamp signals, t 3 , from said third range-finding sensor, instruct said second digital camera of said at least two digital cameras mounted on said right front side of said monitoring vehicle to take said image of said front license plate of said third vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle; and

receive a fourth timestamp signal of said timestamp signals, t 4 , as said second vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle passes either said second range-finding sensor mounted on said left front side bumper portion of said front bumper of said monitoring vehicle or said fourth range-finding sensor mounted on said right front side bumper portion of said front bumper of said monitoring vehicle;

determine said second vehicle velocity, V A2 , of said second vehicle based on: V A2 =V x +d/(t 4 −t 3 ), where d equals the first known distance between said first range-finding sensor and said second range-finding sensor, or where d equals the second known distance between said third range-finding sensor and said fourth range-finding sensor;

receive said speed limit of said roadway from said GPS module;

compare said second vehicle velocity, V A2 , of said second vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle to said speed limit of said roadway;

determine that there is not a speeding violation of said driving violations committed by said second vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle if said second vehicle velocity, V A2 , of said second vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle is equal to or is less than said speed limit of said roadway;

determine that there is said speeding violation of said driving violations committed by said second vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle if said second vehicle velocity, V A2 , is greater than said speed limit of said roadway;

prepare a second vehicle speeding violation report as at least part of said violation report including said second vehicle velocity, V A2 , of said second vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle and said image of said front license plate of said second vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle when determined to be committing said speeding violation of said driving violations;

calculate a first time gap of said time gaps between said first vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle and said second vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle, at said first range-finding sensor, by subtracting said third timestamp signal, t 3 , from said first timestamp signal, t 1 ;

calculate a second time gap of said time gaps between said first vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle and said second vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle at said second range-finding sensor by subtracting said fourth timestamp signal, t 4 , from said second timestamp signal, t 2 ;

determine a minimum safety-based time gap based on a relative difference in speeds of said first vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle and said second vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle;

determine that there is a tailgating violation of said driving violations committed by said second vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle if both said first time gap of said time gaps and said second time gap of said time gaps are less than the minimum safety-based time gap;

determine that there is not said tailgating violation of said driving violations committed by said second vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle if one or more of said first time gap of said time gaps and said second time gap of said time gaps are not less than said minimum safety-based time gap; and

prepare a second vehicle tailgating violation report as at least part of said violation report including said first time gap of said time gaps and said second time gap of said time gaps, said second vehicle velocity, V A2 , of said second vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway, and said image of said front license plate of said second vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway when determined to be committing said tailgating violation of said driving violations.

3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the computer monitoring unit is further configured to:

determine that there is at least one improper passing violation of said driving violations committed by said first vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle and/or said second vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle if one or both of the following occur:

if said first vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle passes said third range-finding sensor and said fourth range-finding sensor of said monitoring vehicle when the monitoring vehicle is travelling at said speed limit of said roadway; and/or

if said second vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle passes said third range-finding sensor and said fourth range-finding sensor of said monitoring vehicle when the monitoring vehicle is travelling at said speed limit of said roadway; and

determine that there is at least one street racing violation of said driving violations committed by said first vehicle of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle and/or said second vehicle of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle if either of the following occur:

if said second vehicle tailgating violation report has been prepared and both of said first vehicle velocity, V A1 , of said first vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle and said second vehicle velocity, V A2 , of said second vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle each exceed said speed limit of said roadway by a threshold amount, wherein said threshold amount is within a range of ten to fifty miles per hour; or

if both of said first vehicle speeding violation report and said second vehicle speeding violation report have been prepared, and said first vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle passes said monitoring vehicle and said second vehicle of said one or more vehicles of said vehicles traveling on said roadway passing said monitoring vehicle simultaneously passes said third range-finding sensor and said fourth range-finding sensor of said monitoring vehicle.