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After Kauno Diena became interested in the history of the appearance of tripod speed meters in Lithuania, suspicious public procurement procedures began to persist. The details of the deal are hidden as if it were a state secret.
The violations are obvious
At the beginning of the year, tripod speed measurement devices on Lithuanian roads immediately caused a wave of passions. Drivers are still debating whether such a method of capturing criminals is ethical, and there are growing doubts about the capabilities and accuracy of these mobile laser speed measurement devices. Questions arose not only for ordinary drivers, but also for speedometer specialists. As the newspaper became interested in the story of the appearance of tripods and their care in Lithuania, the questions did not decrease: some answers remain as if they were under nine locks, and the responsible institutions throw hot potatoes at the journalists’ questions. and they drink different statements.
Not to mention that the Police Department declined to comment on the suspicious acquisition procedure for these speed meters. The nuances of the acquisition itself have not yet been fully vetted by the Public Procurement Office (PPS), but it sees possible violations at a glance.
Invisible technology
The 37 new PoliScan FM1 speed meters purchased by the Police Department last year have greatly scared speed lovers. Laser-based devices can monitor up to six lanes at once, capture cars that not only exceed speed limits, but also cross continuous lanes, cross intersections with a red light, and commit other violations. Furthermore, these offensive standby meters are not informed by any warning signs: they are difficult to detect and the laser beam blocking devices are illegal and far from always working.
Drivers’ fears were soon confirmed: Due to the three-legged position, the team baptized with tripods in Lithuania registers more than 10,000 people a month. speeding cases.
However, the smart assistants to the officers caused additional concerns not only for criminals, but also for their users, the police. Many specialists in speed measurement devices immediately pointed out that the new police toys work according to the laser scanning principle (LIDAR), which had not been seen before in Lithuania. Immediately questions arose about who would carry out the metrological inspection of these facilities, which is mandatory every year.
“This is a completely different technology, for which an inspection methodology has not been established in Lithuania. It must adapt to the inspection of such meters,” explained Ričardas Pūkas, expert in speed meters and director of GPS Meistras store.
R. Pūkas is surprised that tripod speed meters pose many questions, but are avoided. (Personal file photo)
All measurement instruments used by the services must be periodically inspected. Metrological verification is required to ensure that the data recorded by the inspected devices is correct. A special verification methodology adapted to each device of different technology is approved. According to experts, the methodology required to test PoliScan FM1 has not been available in Lithuania so far.
One has already been canceled
Speed measurement devices should be inspected every year. However, these are quite sensitive devices – they can be caused by shock and other strange factors. The newspaper has already written about the accident on the road, when the car crashed into a police service car with more than 30,000 people in its trunk. A trillion worth a billion euros suffered irreparable damage: Klaipeda police spokeswoman Andromeda Grauslien said the device had been canceled.
Other meters may have been damaged in one way or another, they are transported, assembled and collected on site every day. R. Pukas said he had heard many stories when drivers complained that they had been recorded for speeding, but said they had not even gone through the tripod ambush that day.
“Perhaps it is a sign of concern about the performance of these meters? Tripods are constantly transported from one location to another, reassembled. Who can confirm that they still accurately measure speed?” – R.Pūkas argued.
The Police Department, which purchased the meters, turned them over to the Traffic Police. When asked if these speedometers were being verified if, for example, there was any question about the operation of any of the mobile speedometers, an extraordinary verification could be done.
“This is done by companies that have the right to carry out such inspections. The legal metrological inspection is carried out by the Lithuanian Metrology Inspectorate,” replied the police representative, adding that there were no cases in which it would have been necessary.
However, it turns out that for a long time the PoliScan FM1 in Lithuania would not even be available for inspection.
The Police Department did not follow the Public Procurement Law when publishing the contract, as it only made the contract public and not the winner’s offer.
No documents were submitted.
“They came to our country in the fall of 2019, and the crackdown on violators started only in January 2020. Why? In my opinion, there were problems due to metrological verification or other legal problems,” said R. Pooh.
Experts in speed measurement devices have raised the question of whether PoliScan FM1 can be used on Lithuanian roads, if there is no institution in the country that can verify the accuracy of the devices. It also took a long time to find out who checked the meters before using them.
We asked this question of the Highway Police, to whom the 37 speedometers were handed over.
“The approval certificate for the PoliScan FM1 mobile speed measurement device has been issued by the Lithuanian Metrology Inspectorate. Every PoliScan FM1 device used has undergone a metrological inspection,” said Daiva Žilinskė, Chief Specialist, Administrative Division and Traffic Supervision of the Lithuanian Highway Police Service.
However, when asked to send this inspection document for access, she refused to do so for some reason: “The inspection document should be considered as evidence in a case of administrative misconduct and the inspection document issued for a device specific is accessible to the people involved in the administrative file. “
A little later, the representative of the Traffic Police added that the initial inspection of the meters was not carried out in Lithuania. He recommended asking the Lithuanian Metrology Inspectorate for all other questions related to the inspection. This body does not carry out inspections of measuring instruments, but rather controls the activities of the designated bodies.
Although the Traffic Police did not allow access to the PoliScan FM1 initial inspection document, it fell into the hands of a journalist by accident. It turns out that the initial verification of this meter was done in Austria in 2019. July 12 Austrian Federal Office for Calibration and Metrology.
PoliScan FM1 initial inspection document: original (left) and translated into Lithuanian (right)
This document states that the device has been tested in accordance with the rules for speedometer inspection and calibration and the approval granted, together with the Austrian BEV sizing standards. Mandatory inspection and warranty markings are provided on the meter.
“The initial inspection was carried out by the competent authorities of the EU and EEA states, it is recognized in Lithuania and the initial inspection is not repeated in Lithuania,” emphasized Simonas Bužinskas, Head of the Division of Legal Metrology and Experience of the Lithuanian Metrology Inspectorate. He could not answer who would perform the periodic inspection of the meters, which must be done soon.
Forgot the contract?
According to the general requirements, during the periodic verification, the main parameters to verify are the evaluation of the limits and errors of speed measurement, the verification of the connection of the system with the database computer. In Lithuania, the inspection of speed measurement instruments can be carried out by two institutions: the Vilnius Metrology Center (VMC) and the company “EKS Test Laboratory”. In mid-May, the representatives of both institutions assured that they had very little information about the new PoliScan FM1.
“We have not performed inspections of this system. The inspection methodology for initial and periodic inspections is specified in the type approval certificate for this measuring instrument,” said Martynas Kinka, Technical Manager, EKS Testing Laboratory.
“We have not yet contacted any institution regarding these speedometers. We were only interested in what it was through the gauges, who listed them on the Lithuanian State Register of Measuring Instruments, according to the methodology we will have to verify, “said VMC Vilnius Region Laboratories on May 15. manager Evelina Lesutytė.
However, in June, Kauno diena unexpectedly discovered that the same VMC had won a major tender announced by the Police Department in the spring, which included a tender for the purchase of police speed measurement devices and blood alcohol, roulette calibration and laser rangefinders and metrological inspection services. The measuring instruments listed in the conditions include the PoliScan FM1. The contract was signed on March 30. The total value of the contract is 375 thousand. euros
“Yes, we have a contract with them for periodic inspection, but I don’t know if it is worth announcing,” E. Lesutytė hoped to keep the secret for incomprehensible reasons. He assured that the VMC has a special system to verify these speedometers. Why a month ago he was silent about the contract and explained that he knew next to nothing about the PoliScan FM1, E. Lesutytė did not respond.
I received only one offer
One of the main indicators of whether an acquisition condition has been drafted without qualification or tailored to a particular supplier is lit when the acquisition receives only a suitable offer. This is what happened with the purchase of the PoliScan FM1.
The Police Department, which carried out the acquisition, received questions from potential suppliers as to why lasers and meters of this specification are being purchased. However, their requests to change technical conditions and increase competition were ignored, resulting in three of the four suppliers (bidders) participating in the public tender not meeting the requirements set out in the procurement documents. The only option left for the police were the Poliscan FM1 meters from the German manufacturer Vitronic offered by the Estonian company Alarmtec AS. 37 speed measurement and police training kits planted more than 1.17 million. euros
In addition, the tender conditions established that speed violators must be registered at least 70 m from the highway. In the Lithuanian State Register of Measuring Instruments, which must include all the devices used, or if it is not available, the device cannot be used, the speedometer “PoliScan FM1” has the following characteristics: “Measurement range: with standard equipment (20 … 50) m when mounted on a pole (35 … 65) m “. If the figures were given correctly, Alarmtec AS could not even be declared the winner because the product they offered did not meet the buyer’s requirements. The police department declined to comment.
VPT is cautious about this fact, as it has not conducted this public procurement investigation, but its specialists immediately drew attention to another violation: the Police Department concealed or did not bother to publish the bid winner’s offer. Therefore, data on whether the PoliScan FM1 meets the requirements for publicly purchased measuring instruments are not publicly available.
“The Police Department did not follow the Public Procurement Law when publishing the contract, as it only published the contract itself, but not the winner’s offer,” replied Vygandas Kieras, a specialist in the Communications Division of the VPN.
The police department could have committed another procedural violation. The purchasing conditions state that the last stage of the procedures is a demonstration. However, no data could be obtained in this regard.
The department does not comment.
We asked Ramūnas Matonis, Head of the Communications Department of the Police Department, who purchased the PoliScan FM1, and asked all the questions raised in this article. He promised to answer within a week, but the next day he called himself and said the questions were very simple, they were very easy to answer. However, instead of responses, R.Matonis sent a reference to the documents of the public procurement procedures for meters. Among which there is no Estonian offer.
Instead of the responses, R.Matonis sent a reference to the documents of the public procurement procedures for meters. (Photo by D. Labutis / ELTA)
In an attempt to explain that all the public information contained in the link sent to the journalist is known, Matoni said he had nothing more to explain because the police did not carry out metrological checks and ignored questions about public procurement.
“Until now, these meters have not been subjected to metrological verification, so it is too early to talk about the problems we may face. In our opinion, metrological verification will be as successful as other previously acquired laser speedometers held by the police. All public information on public procurement is at the link provided by us “, – R.Matonis cut.
The antidote is safe speed.
“You can see in the media that the criminals identified by these meters are thousands every week. They all pay fines, so in my personal opinion, the police should be very responsible for the equipment they use to record the violations,” said Pooh. .
When the PoliScan FM1 began operating on the streets, rumors were heard of a sharp increase in demand for radar detectors. These devices inform owners behind the wheel of the tripods waiting in front of them, but R. Pūkas claims that the only legal means that can save you from the pitfalls of modern speed measurement equipment is the allowed speed.
Police tripod toys work according to the principle of laser scanning (LIDAR), which has not been seen before in Lithuania, but there are doubts about who will review these devices. (Photo by Laimis Steponavičius)
“There have been vendors who say that there are radar detectors that can save you from tripods. But radar detectors are not designed to protect against laser meters. In this case, I am not talking about anti-radar (blockers) that are prohibited by the law and we don’t recommend them, “he said.
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