Parking Meters That Can Call for Help
The town of Eastbourne, East Sussex has a new breed of intelligent parking meters.
The meters come with a built in SIM card and are programmed to send an SMS message for help when they sense something is amiss. The message is sent to a 24 hour control centre in Bristol who then notify the police.
The 150 solar-powered pay and display machines can automatically send for help if they are damaged or someone has attempted a to break in them. They can also request service if they malfunction or need their coin boxes emptied.
East Sussex county councilor Matthew Lock says the town has been looking for a safer and more secure parking system and that this is the answer,
"This will be one of the most secure parking services in the country. With this system, anyone who tampers with a machine runs the risk of being caught in the act and could be jailed.”
The £3,000, stainless steel, wireless machines come into operation today.
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