Jumping signals, rash driving, and not wearing safety gear are some of the most common traffic offences observed in the city. In a bid to keep tabs on the violators , the traffic department is all set to implement the smart traffic management through live camera from New Year.
Data of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) show that out of the total 5,198 accidents reported across the state in 2017, 4,204 accidents were caused due to violation of traffic rules in which 2,645 people lost their lives.
The new traffic management system will ensure that the traffic rule violators are caught on camera and fined for their offence.
In the first phase, 16 spots across the city have been identified where the cameras will capture the number plate of such persons who do not stop behind the stop lines which painted just before the zebra crossing, in yellow.
To ensure proper implementation of the programme, the traffic department has got the stop lines and zebra crossings repainted for clear visibility at all the selected spots.
However, a major bottleneck the traffic department is worried about facing is the lack of awareness of people about the stop line. “Most people here stop their vehicle not before but after zebra crossing. To ensure that people are aware about the concept before we start to fine them, we would be spreading information through newspaper advertisements and radio channels,” said traffic SP, Ajit Peter Dungung.
Each of the selected posts have three types of cameras installed, including red light violation detector (RLVD) camera, automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera and the regular infra red camera.
As soon as a person crosses the stop line after once the signal goes red, the number plate of their vehicles will automatically be captured by the camera. “If the phone number of the rule violator is registered with his driving license, an auto generate e-challan would immediately be sent to his mobile number. However, those who have not got their phone numbers registered will be sent challan through post,” Dungdung said.
Those who get the challan will have to arrive at one of the four traffic police stations of the city to pay fine within 15 days.
In a bid to make the payment of fine easier for those arriving at the city from the outskirts, the traffic department has also tied up with postal department to permit rule violators to pay fine at post offices.
“If a person coming from Tamar is caught on camera violating law, he would not have to come to the city to pay fine. Instead, he can do it at his local post office,” Dungdung said.
The 16 places where the new project will be implemented include Jail Chowk, Karamtoli Chowk, Booty More, Ratu Road, Shahjanand Chowk, Argora Chowk, Birsa Chowk, Hinoo Chowk, AG More, Sujata Chowk, Siramtoli Chowk, Lalpur Chowk, Kutchehry Chowk, Sarjana Chowk, Chandni Chowk and Ram Mandir Chowk.
Dungdung said, “Once we start sending fine receipts and the people become aware that they are under the scanner, we hope that the number of traffic rules violation cases in the city would decrease.”