The Interior Ministry has introduced a technology-driven traffic enforcement system, TraffiTech-GH, to identify, track and penalise motorists who violate road traffic regulations. The system was announced by Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak during his appearance at the Government Accountability Series on Monday, August 24.
New Tech to Track Traffic Offenders
The TraffiTech-GH system uses surveillance cameras and other monitoring devices installed on major roads to detect traffic violations and automatically generate evidence against offenders. According to the Minister, once a violation is detected, the evidence is transmitted to a central control room for verification before an electronic notice is sent to the offender.
The notification will contain details of the offence, the applicable penalty and instructions on how to pay the fine. As Minister Mohammed-Mubarak explained, "The evidence is revealed through a back office control room after the offenders receive electronic notices with details of the offences, penalty and payment process on their phones. So, if you cross a red light, you will just receive a text message."
Automated Enforcement System
TraffiTech-GH is an automated traffic enforcement system developed by the Ghana Police Service to monitor road use and improve road safety. The system uses fixed intersection cameras, mobile vehicle-mounted cameras, handheld and tripod devices, as well as other digital monitoring tools to capture traffic offences.
Detected offences are transmitted to a 24-hour control room, where evidence is reviewed before electronic notices are issued to offenders. The notices are expected to provide information including the location and date of the offence, the applicable fine and visual evidence of the violation.
Reducing Road Crashes and Fatalities
The Minister hopes that the initiative will help minimise the carnage on Ghana's roads, which is covering over 47 offences. Motorists who fail to pay the fines will be traced by the security agencies and could be arrested. "If you fail to pay, then we will go after you," the Minister warned.
The system is also designed to reduce direct interactions between motorists and police officers during enforcement, potentially limiting roadside disputes and opportunities for manual handling of traffic fines. Fines are to be paid electronically within 14 days through the Ghana.gov platform.
Source: Joy Online
