Effective traffic surveillance camera system

(Baonghean) -After 4 months of operation, the traffic surveillance camera system on National Highway 1A, passing through Nghe An province, has shown positive results, automatically recording thousands of traffic violations by vehicle drivers, helping traffic police impose administrative penalties, contributing to the improvement of traffic order and safety.

Over the past 4 months, everyone passing through the Vinh Bus Station gate has noticed that there are no more illegal bus stops or pick-ups like before. This clear change was created when this road was equipped with automatic traffic surveillance cameras along with the resolute punishment of the authorities.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tinh, an officer of the Vinh City Traffic Inspection Team under the Nghe An Department of Transport, who regularly monitors this road section, said: In the past, the situation of passenger buses stopping to pick up and drop off passengers in violation of regulations often caused traffic congestion on this road section. There were times when the Traffic Inspection force coordinated with the Traffic Police to increase handling and push back, but later, when the functional force was absent, the violation of passenger vehicles occurred again. Since the beginning of November 2012, when the Ministry of Public Security installed an automatic traffic surveillance camera system right at this point, we no longer had to push back but coordinated to strictly punish violations recorded by the camera. Even during the day and at night, the camera system clearly recorded images and license plates of violating vehicles. When imposing fines, we provided evidence in the form of images recorded at specific times and hours, so drivers and bus assistants could not deny it. Since then, traffic through Vinh Bus Station gate has been cleared, and our task force has also reduced pressure during each shift.

Compare images of violations when imposing penalties

The traffic police force calling the driver of a vehicle that has been recorded by an automatic traffic surveillance camera to issue a fine is called “cold fine”. Among the more than 450 cases of car violations that were “cold fined” by the Vinh City Traffic Police, there were more than 100 taxi drivers who had violated red lights, speeding or encroaching on the road as recorded by traffic surveillance cameras. All of these violations occurred when the driver did not see the traffic police or violated at noon or at night.

In cases where taxis run red lights and are recorded by cameras, Vinh City Traffic Police will impose a fine of VND1,000,000, impound the vehicle for 10 days, and revoke the driver's license for 30 days according to Decree 71/2012/ND-CP on amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree 34/2010/ND-CP regulating administrative penalties for violations in the field of road traffic. "From being "fined" like that, now taxi drivers no longer dare to run red lights or drive recklessly like before," Lieutenant Colonel Hoang Duy Ha, Captain of the Traffic Police Team, Vinh City Police, affirmed.

The automatic traffic surveillance camera system was deployed by the Ministry of Public Security in the first phase on National Highway 1A from Hanoi - Vinh and Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho since the beginning of November 2012. Up to now, after 4 months of operation, the traffic surveillance camera system on National Highway 1A, the section passing through Nghe An province has not had any technical errors and can record in all weather conditions. At night, this system will record violations through the reflection of reflective paint on vehicle license plates. Within 4 months, the traffic surveillance camera system in Nghe An has recorded 14,000 cases of vehicles violating traffic safety and order. Thereby, the Vinh City Traffic Police force and the Dien Chau Traffic Control Station under the Traffic Police Department have handled over 1,000 violations of traffic participants.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Dinh Van Khuong, Head of Dien Chau Traffic Control Station, among the cases that have been fined, there are people who have been "cold fined" for both violations at two different times that were recorded by the camera. For other cases that have not been fined, the traffic police force will notify the vehicle owners or agencies and units with the violating vehicles to pay the fine within an appropriate time according to the provisions of law. In the process of handling violations of traffic participants recorded by the camera, Dien Chau Traffic Control Station will transfer the information recorded by the camera system to the laptops of the traffic police force on duty on the road, and at the same time transfer it to the Vinh City Traffic Police and other areas to coordinate in handling the fine.

In addition to the traffic surveillance camera system installed on National Highway 1A, the Provincial Police are installing traffic surveillance cameras on other national highways in the area and on the roads of Vinh City. Thus, on many roads, traffic police do not have to patrol regularly but can still handle traffic safety violations through the traffic surveillance camera system. This contributes to reducing the direct presence of traffic order enforcement forces on the roads, while raising the awareness of traffic participants to voluntarily comply with traffic safety order.

Article and photos: Nguyen Son