‘Safe Kerala’ project to use artificial intelligence cameras to identify violations of traffic laws and impose fines

The state of Kerala in southern India is launching the ‘Safe Kerala’ project on April 20, which will employ AI cameras to identify and penalize traffic law violations. The Kerala Motor Vehicle Department has installed 726 AI cameras to track down violations, such as riding a two-wheeler without a helmet, riding with more than two passengers, using a phone while driving, and running red lights.

The project is aimed at increasing road safety in the state, where poor adherence to safety regulations and inadequate infrastructure development have led to a rise in road accidents.

To detect legal offences through cameras, the Motor Vehicle Department has implemented the ‘Fully Automated Traffic Enforcement System,’ which eliminates the need for roadside policing. The AI cameras are solar-powered and use 4G LTE SIM to send data. The visual processing unit in the camera box will examine every vehicle, and the control room of the Motor Vehicles Department will receive photos of the vehicles that violated traffic laws as well as the driver.

A system is in place to gather six months’ worth of infraction footage, and up to 30,000 penalty notifications may be issued in a single day. Traffic violations will be checked and examined by motor vehicle inspectors before warnings are issued.

According to statistics, two-wheelers are the most dangerous vehicles on Kerala’s roads, and two-wheeler riders suffer the most injuries. In 2022, Kerala reported 13,334 two-wheeler accidents, resulting in 1,288 fatalities. In 2021, 10,154 two-wheeler accidents led to 1,069 fatalities.

A total of 43,910 traffic accidents occurred in the state in 2022, causing 4,317 deaths and injuring 34,638 people, while 33,296 accidents resulted in 3,429 fatalities in 2021. The district of Ernakulam in Kerala had the most accidents, with a total of 4,047.

Officials have cited poor adherence to safety regulations and careless behavior such as drunk driving or driver negligence as the leading causes of road accidents.

The ‘Safe Kerala’ project aims to improve road safety in the state and reduce the number of traffic accidents by enforcing traffic laws through AI cameras.