Tech will tame menace on our roads

Ambassador Raphael Faranisi

THE Zimbabwe Republic Police, through the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, has embarked on a project to implement a smart traffic management system countrywide to improve road safety.

This is against the background of the increased number of road accidents and traffic congestion, all attributed to lack of discipline among motorists. The use of traditional traffic management methods, which are heavily manual, has proved to be ineffective and inefficient in curbing the current menace on our roads.

An inter-ministerial smart traffic management system technical committee composed of key stakeholders was put in place, led by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage. Each stakeholder has an obligation to fulfil before implementation of the project.

Through this committee, sub technical teams have been put in place to work on various key enabling areas to allow smooth deployment of the system.

For instance, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, and the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works are in the process of upgrading road infrastructure, which includes the resurfacing of roads, as well as the refurbishment of traffic lights, streetlights, road signage and road markings.

At the same time, the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs is in the process of aligning the laws to the smart traffic management system.

It is the completion of such processes that shall pave the way for the smooth implementation of the smart traffic management system.

Operational mechanism

The smart traffic management system shall consist of various field devices like red traffic lights violation detection cameras, speed violation detection cameras, an automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system and various cameras and sensors for detection of traffic regulation violations.

All these field devices shall be connected to a command and control centre, where traffic violations will be captured and processed in real-time. The system shall be embedded with various technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) to generate data that can be used to enhance intelligent decision support systems.

The system shall be integrated with stakeholder databases, including the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara), the Central Vehicle Registry (CVR) and the Civil Registry Department (CRD).

It shall also be integrated with institutions like the Insurance Council of Zimbabwe (ICZ) and banks, among other stakeholders.

Rollout plan

The system shall be rolled out in phases.

Phase One shall start with the two metropolitan provinces — Harare and Bulawayo.

Phase Two shall include Gweru, Masvingo and Mutare, whilst Phase Three will cover the remaining provinces.

However, some of the traffic-enforcement mobile gadgets like semi-fixed speed violation detection devices shall be deployed nationwide.

Key features

The smart traffic management system shall consist of the following key components:

Integrated command and control centres

The integrated command and control centres shall be installed at national and provincial levels, and shall be the hubs of all traffic management systems.

It shall consist of the following key components: computer-aided dispatch and call centre; a video-monitoring centre; a traffic investigations management module; a traffic violations management module; and field devices.

Traffic enforcement systems, embedded with intelligent technologies linked to the command and control centre, shall be deployed to perform the following functions: red light violation detection; speed violation detection; stop line/sign violation detection; traffic (general offences) violation detection; ANPR; and gathering of data on the traffic situation to enhance almost real-time decision-making using various sensors.

Traffic accident/incident reporting, recording and tracking system

The system shall witness the development of traffic accident reporting, recording and investigation modules.

Traffic enforcement system

The system shall also include the traffic enforcement system to automate the issuance of traffic tickets and payment of deposit fines.

The smart traffic management system shall be embedded with AI technologies to enhance its capabilities.

Enforcement mechanisms

The smart traffic management system shall remove the human element in the enforcement of road rules and regulations.

The installed field devices like speed violation detection and red light violation detection systems shall automatically capture traffic violations. Through integration with the CVR, the ANPR system shall identify the vehicle owner.

A notice of violation will then be emailed or sent to the violating driver on his/her mobile phone. If the violating driver intends to pay a fine, an option is provided to make the transaction on his/her mobile phone.

If the violating driver intends to challenge the violation, video evidence will automatically be generated.  The system will be merged with the integrated electronic case management system, where a docket will automatically be pushed to the courts for prosecution. In case the driver absconds court, intelligent roadblocks connected to the system will detect the violating driver or vehicle. At the same time, Zinara or CVR systems will red-flag the violating vehicle as it passes through a tollgate or checkpoint.

Implementation plan

Once the necessary enabling infrastructure for the deployment of the system is in place, Phase One will commence.

 Ambassador Raphael Faranisi is the Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage. He was speaking to The Sunday Mail’s Emmanuel Kafe.