A stringent enforcement of traffic rule with Artificial Intelligence-based (AI) checking is on the cards to book traffic rule violators with solid digital evidence. Efforts are underway to install about 60 AI cameras solely for the purpose of exposing traffic rule violations and imposing fines without any considerations.
The project is being implemented in the city as part of a State-level road safety project covering metro cities in the first phase. Across the State, there will be 726 cameras linked to special control rooms of the enforcement squads. The government will spend ₹225 crore for the mega project.
Officers with the Motor Vehicles Department say the cameras will become operational across the State within a few months. The Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation (KELTRON) will be completing the installation works and the future maintenance of the systems, they add.
In Kozhikode, the police have already installed hi-tech cameras with automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) features. To support the 24x7 surveillance measure, there is a closed circuit television camera control room and command centre.
The project commisisoned in 2021 is now functioning well covering the key points of the city. It is mostly used to track traffic-related issues, hit and run cases and vehicle thefts. With the entry of AI-based cameras, the surveillance network will further get a boost.
A senior Motor Vehicle Department inspector said the introduction of AI cameras would largely reduce the manual enforcement drives and the stress on the road squads to constantly track road rule violations. The AI-supported enforcement activities would be futuristic by all means with solid evidence to prove the offences, he added.
“Even minor offences can be tracked with precision using AI-based cameras. Reluctance to wear seat belts, alteration of vehicles, unauthorised fittings and the reckless driving can be traced very easily even from distant locations,”said the MVD Inspector. He also pointed out that the 24x7 checking would be a reality with no human intervention at all in the future.
In the north Kerala region alone, about 200 such cameras, all having a capacity to capture visuals within 800 metre distance, will start functioning within a couple of months. Only national highway stretches where the road widening works are in full swing will be temporarily excluded from the coverage area. KELTRON takes up the project implementation after conducting successful trial runs in the State.
