Kerala: AI cameras detect 328 govt vehicles violating traffic rules; 10 MPs fined

Thiruvananthapuram: The state's Transport Minister Antony Raju said that after the installation of AI cameras to detect traffic violations, there has been a significant reduction in the number of road accidents. In July 2022, the number of people injured in road accidents was 3,992 and by July 2023, the number decreased to 3,316. Under the leadership of the Transport Minister, a review meeting of the AI cameras was held on Thursday (Aug 3) in Thiruvananthapuram.

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According to Antony Raju, a frequent misconception among the public is that VIP vehicles are exempt from paying fines for traffic offenses. He said that all vehicles were being fined by the AI cameras for traffic offenses, regardless of their registration status or owner. He said that the cameras recorded violations by 19 MLAs and 10 MPs within a month. However, the names of the MPs and MLAs detected on the AI camera were not disclosed. Among the frequent violations against these public officials were speeding and seat belt violations. The Motor Vehicle Department also slapped challan to all those caught by the AI camera.

The AI cameras did not spare government officials too. It detected traffic violations by several VIPs, including Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs).

The AI cameras recorded a total of 32,42,277 violations as of Wednesday. 3,82,580 people have received e-challans after 15,83,367 of these instances were assessed. 3,23,604 persons have received challans from the authorities for breaking traffic laws. 328 government vehicles were also discovered to have violated traffic laws.

Only Rs 3.3 crore out of possible penalties of almost Rs 25 crore has been paid. 

The Kerala Motor Vehicle Department and Keltron's AI cameras began penalizing violators on June 5. The cameras will be active around-the-clock.

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