Choosing a site location

Selection of where to install the Roadside Unit is crucial to its successful operation.   Please read this very carefully before selecting your location.

We suggest you walk the area you are considering to select a suitable location such that the Roadside Unit:

• Is on the nearside, and as close as possible. The closer to the carriageway (without causing a strike hazard to vehicles, pedestrians, or other road users),  the better the results will be.  The pole must be on the nearside and <4m from the centre of the nearside lane.
  
• Is sufficiently high up.  The pole should be high enough to put the unit out of easy vandalism risk.  We suggest 2.8m to 3.2m height.
  
• Is on a straight(ish) clear section of road.  The location should also be at least 60m from a change of speed boundary, and have at least 40 metres line-of-sight visibility of the traffic, both before and after.  The road should be straight (although a slight curve to the right is also ok). Consider where vehicles tend to park.
  
• Will get direct sunlight. The unit requires a good view of the sky to recharge with the solar panel in direct sunlight.  The installation location should therefore be free of overhanging bushes or trees,or anything else that might shade sunlight reaching the top of the unit.  Think about how the sun tracks across the sky and how the unit will receive light.
• Avoid proximity to other units or radar-based systems (e.g. SIDs).  The unit also needs to communicate over any mobile phone network, and should not be in an area of poor/nil coverage.

The unit is typically mounted to a existing road sign pole, but can be any sturdy vertical static structure away from combustible items (the battery technology used has a very small but inherent risk of thermal runaway).  The units need to be permanent installations, and should not be re-located.

You should have the permission of the owner/local council and/or the Highways Agency, for attaching the unit to any roadside furniture/poles/etc, and comply with the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (NRSWA).  The area being monitored should have “implied consent” warning signs for compliance with BSCC's Surveillance Camera guidelines.  We recommend the use of our signs to meet these guidelines; see our section on UK law for details.   You should follow the guidelines and complete a Privacy Impact Assessment for each location you install; downloadable templates are available when you purchase a unit.

Once you've chosen your site take a look at our installation instructions.