THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Flouting traffic rules is going to get dearer. As the 726 new cameras, including 675 AI-powered ones, installed on state and national highways go live from Thursday, motor vehicles department (MVD) officials say motorists will be fined separately for multiple detections of the same traffic rule violation.
“Each camera detection will be fined even if the offence is same. For instance, a biker not wearing a helmet will have to pay multiple fines depending on how many cameras detected the offence,” said transport commissioner S Sreejith.
In a recent trial run, the cameras detected 90,000 offences in a day!
However, Sreejith maintained that the aim was not to collect more fines. “The cameras are aimed at enforcing traffic rules and enhancing road safety,” he said.
The cameras will be on the lookout for bikers not wearing helmets and overloading, car passengers not wearing seat belts, people using mobile phones while driving and those jumping the red light.
With road accidents killing over 4,000 people in Kerala every year, the enhanced surveillance is expected to bring down serious accidents and reduce fatality by 20%, say officials. Listing out various violations, Sreejith said, “It is an offence if more than two people travel in two-wheelers, even if the third person is a child. No exemption will be given to pregnant women if they are not wearing seat belts in a moving car. Babies should be with passengers in the back seat of a car,” he said.
Text notification within 6 hours, challan next day
The traffic rules, he said, will be applicable for all, including KSRTC buses. Exemption will be given to emergency vehicles. Offenders will receive a text notification regarding the penalty on their registered mobile number within six hours of the offence. A challan will be sent by post the next day. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the Fully Automated Traffic Enforcement System being implemented under MVD’s ‘Safe Kerala’ project on Thursday.