This paper describes research conducted for the Department for Transport into a method for estimating the number of vehicles that travel from origin to destination (O-D) using number plate data collected with automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) systems. Equations for calculating the O-D traffic are presented and factors affecting the accuracy of automatic reading of number plates are outlined. In order to determine the importance of these factors, data were collected from six sites on the M6 and M54 in the West Midlands, UK. Two types of camera equipment were tested under various weather and traffic flow conditions. Manual (from video recordings) and automatic reading of number plates were compared. A recommended method is outlined. For the covering abstract see ITRD E118297.
Samenvatting