Goa identifies 70 accident-prone zones for installation of AI cameras to enhance road safety

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Goa, authorities have identified 70 priority locations as accident-prone zones across the state. These locations will be equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) cameras by December to monitor vehicular traffic and detect violations committed by motorists. The decision was made during a State Road Safety Council meeting held at the ITMS control room in Altinho on Friday.

Transport director Rajan Satardekar highlighted the need for electronic intervention in these accident-prone zones, as it has become increasingly challenging to physically monitor them from a policing perspective. Disorderly driving and the damaging of traffic medians, which enable two-wheelers to change lanes haphazardly, have been identified as major contributors to safety issues and accidents in these areas. To address this problem, the transport department plans to increase personnel at the backend to remotely monitor these locations.

Collaborative discussions are underway with the Goa police's traffic cell to determine the optimal spots and angles for camera placement. The associated costs for installing cameras at these priority locations are also being finalized. Furthermore, the list of traffic violations captured by AI cameras will be expanded to penalize motorists found in violation.

Since June 1, the transport department and the traffic cell have been issuing challans (traffic tickets) based on violations detected by AI cameras. This has led to a crackdown on prominent traffic offenses such as speeding, riding without a helmet, driving without a seatbelt, and using mobile phones while driving. These high-resolution cameras were installed by L&T according to earlier reports.