Edappally-Aroor NH 66 bypass yet to have AI-powered cameras

Artificial Intelligence-enabled cameras to preserve tabs on visitors rule violations are conspicuous by their absence on the 16-km Edappally-Aroor NH Bypass, which is extremely accident-prone and is taken into account the busiest nationwide freeway hall in Kerala.

The hall can be infamous for, amongst others, racing by youth in illegally-altered motorbikes. Still, not even a pair of the 726 AI-enabled cameras, that had been put in on highways and arterial roads just lately, had been put up on the stretch the place passenger automobiles, items carriers, and pedestrians jostle for house. AI-camera surveillance is proscribed to the intense finish of the bypass, at Aroor.

Pointing to the necessity for a number of AI-cameras on the stretch, police sources mentioned fatalities involving pedestrians had been excessive, whereas two-wheeler riders had been equally susceptible to accidents due to rash-driving, gross violation of lane-traffic norms, haphazard parking, and unscientific location of bus stops.

A dozen AI-cameras had been wanted on the Varapuzha Junction-Edappally-Aroor stretch, mentioned Upendra Narayanan, professional member, Kerala Road Safety Authority (KRSA). “This is mainly because the corridor has a mix of intra-city, inter-district and inter-State vehicular traffic and also witnesses severe indiscipline by all types of road users. Violation of lane discipline is the norm on the corridor, putting them at risk. Manual patrol too is needed to enforce traffic rules since even excavators and tricycles of ragpickers use the main carriageway. I recently took up these issues with high-ranking police officers and other stakeholders. On its part, the agency collecting toll has failed to provide adequate street lights, reflectors and other infrastructure which would improve visibility,” he mentioned.

A senior Motor Vehicles division official mentioned the areas for the 726 AI cameras had been determined in 2019, centered primarily on ‘black spots’ the place accidents had been the very best. “Apart from stepped up enforcement by way of surveillance cameras, there is need to provide adequate skilled personnel to the Kerala Road Safety Authority, so that it can effectively function as an umbrella body that would coordinate with agencies that own roads, those that enforce norms and road-safety experts.”