THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In response to allegations suggesting that the Transport Department had manipulated road accident data to support the controversial AI-camera project, Transport Minister Antony Raju presented data on Tuesday that revealed a decrease in road accidents and fatalities since the introduction of AI camera surveillance by the Motor Vehicle Department on June 5.
He provided these accident records spanning the past four months as evidence. The minister emphasised that there was no inconsistency between the accident records he presented in the legislative assembly and the affidavit submitted by the transport department to the High Court. Specifically, this is related to the accident records for the month of August.
Raju called on Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan to retract his accusations regarding data discrepancies and issue an apology. "The allegation is politically motivated. The Leader of the Opposition is intentionally attempting to undermine a project that has been implemented for the benefit of the public,” said Raju. He acknowledged that there might be changes in the final count of accident-related deaths due to the possibility that individuals who sustained serious injuries in road accidents might succumb to their injuries at a later time. However, he clarified that he had already addressed this matter in the legislative assembly.
VIPs caught on camera
Regarding VIPs, the minister disclosed that the cameras detected 56 violations by MPs and MLAs in September alone. However, he was unsure whether the violators had paid fines or not. He also pointed out that no official vehicles of ministers had been caught by the cameras, as the staff had been diligently adhering to safety instructions. In June, when the Motor Vehicle Department commenced camera enforcement, 56 violations by VIPs, particularly those displaying boards on the front of their vehicles, were recorded.
Seat belt mandatory
In terms of regulations, the minister announced that seat belts would become mandatory for drivers of heavy vehicles, including KSRTC buses, starting from November 1. Passengers seated in the front rows of buses would also be required to wear seat belts. This decision followed a previous deferral to allow bus and freight operators sufficient time to install seat belt provisions. Raju encouraged vehicle owners to update their phone number details on the Parivahan website to receive challan details via SMS.