Explained | How AI-powered cameras can rein in traffic violations Premium
The Hindu
The Kerala Government has operationalised AI-enabled cameras to rein in traffic rule violations and road accidents; the cameras will detect offences such as failure to wear helmets and seatbelts and instances of a hit-and-run.
The story so far: Kerala Government operationalised 726 artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled cameras on April 20. The State Cabinet had accorded administrative sanction to the Fully Automated Traffic Enforcement System, implemented as part of the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD)’s Safe Kerala Project to rein in traffic rule violations and road accidents. The network will also eliminate the need to flag down vehicles for checks. The cameras were installed at a cost of ₹232 crore.
What necessitated the adoption of sophisticated technology for road safety?
Despite being one among the smallest States in the country, Kerala faces the ignominy of figuring among the worst-faring States in terms of road accidents.
According to a Ministry of Road Transport and Highways report on Road Accidents in India 2021, Kerala was ranked fifth in terms of the total number of road accidents after recording 33,296 accidents that year. The State was also second for the total number of accidents per lakh population (93.8) and fourth for the total number of road accidents per 10,000 km of roads (1581.6).
Road accidents and fatalities have also been on the rise in the State. Their respective counts increased from 27,877 and 2,979 in 2020 to 43,910 and 4,317 last year.
Statistics gathered by the Kerala Police indicate no signs of abatement in this regard. While 8,524 accidents have been reported until February, such mishaps have resulted in 740 deaths and 9,795 injuries. Two-wheeler riders have amounted to nearly half of the deaths.
The cameras have been installed on accident-prone black spots along the National and the State Highways after deliberations over three years. Thiruvananthapuram district, the capital, has the highest number of cameras – 81.
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