Automation the solution to Bengaluru's traffic woes?

 

Recently, through a tweet, the City Police Commissioner Praveen Sood stated that stop line and signal jumping enforcement would be the top priority for the traffic officers in Bengaluru. Indeed, this is a good move since according to official data, the authority booked 7,22,738 motorists for jumping traffic signals in 2016 which means close to 1980 cases on an average every day in last year. 

 

To ensure that the city motorists follow the traffic rules and offenders do not go scot-free, the authorities have adopted various measures including installation of Red Light Violation Detection (RLVD) cameras at ten junctions around the city. Soon the city will also have adaptive traffic signal lights at around 35 important junctions for smooth running of vehicles through better management of traffic time.The RLVD cameras which will be installed in more junctions soon capture the red light violations to identify the vehicle with its licence plate so that challan can be generated.

 

On the other hand, the adaptive traffic signal lights will be regulating the traffic wait time by changing the signal it as per the number of vehicles at the traffic signal. Long waiting time at the signals is a major complaint that the car owners have, and this new automated system will help to resolve the same. 

 

Also READ: Good news Bengalureans: City to get smart signals to beat the traffic woes

 

Adoption of automation to manage the traffic and lessen the woes of the commuters is a great idea on paper, but will it work in Bengaluru? This is the real question. 

 

Bengaluru’s traffic problem is a complicated issue that has the influence of weather, compliance to VIP movement, and of course, rowdy motorists whose actions often causes much trouble. The adaptive traffic signal lights work on lanes that follow the rules diligently to gather the data of actual traffic flow. 

 

By this data, the signal automatically generates the traffic time. In Bengaluru, there are no separate lanes for two wheelers, three wheelers, four wheelers or heavy vehicles making it hard to gather accurate data to predict the traffic time. 

 

Apart from this these equipment are costly and require proper maintenance for which trained technicians are needed. Also, such a system has complex components like communication channel, application software and a central control system. Unless these components are not taken care of, the automation system will not show any effect.

 

In conclusion, is the city traffic police department equipped enough to properly adopt the automation systems to make it a success or at least beneficial for motorists in the city?