Traffic police doomed

Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

..except on major security check points

By AARON CHIYANZO

THE days of crooked traffic police officers are numbered following the introduction of the computer based Traffic Management System that will employ cameras to detect and capture over speeding, Jumping red lights, late licencing and other offences.

The system will utilise a centralised data to  track vehicles for various offences throughout Zambia and offender captured on camera will be sent bills.

The introduction of a Road Safety Management System will do away with unnecessary traffic police presence on Zambian roads except major security check points on feeder roads, says Transport and Commutation Minister Brain Mushimba

Mr Mushimba said that the traffic system would now be self-policing as the technology that would be implemented would be able to do what traffic officers were doing.

He told the Daily Nation that the police command was already aware of the changes that would come with road traffic upgrades and supported the programme.

Mr Mushimba said that once the upgrades were fully implemented, there would be no traffic police officers to man motorists bypassing robots and no unnecessary road blocks as the new technology would be able to handle such functions.

He however pointed out that major security checkpoints on feeder roads, to man against criminality would still be mounted as guided by relevant authorities. Mr Mushimba said that the recently launched US$500 million Road Safety Management System would make the work that traffic police officers had been doing on roads more efficient and more accountable.

“When the project is fully implemented, CCTV put in place, roads marked and entire traffic system put onto this platform, there will be no need for unnecessary check points by traffic police on traffic lights among others, except security check points,” he said.

Meanwhile, Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) head of public relations, Frederick Mubanga assured that the Road Safety Management System, being undertaken by Intelligent Mobility Solution (IMS) would be customised to meet the needs of the Zambian traffic system.

He said that the Road Safety Management System would also come with a migration to electronic number plates with security features in tandem with the entire system.

And IMS yesterday launched a Mobile Policing Vehicle with relevant security features to be used by RTSA officers during patrols.The vehicle was a roadside road safety enforcement vehicle, based on a Toyota Fortund 2,4 Automatic Transmission.

The vehicle has state of the art back office computer communication and printing systems and identification of vehicles of Special Interest which allowed the team to look for unlicensed vehicles among other features.

Also included was assistance in road break-downs, response to and securing of accident scenes, road safety checks and duties at various points, routine vehicle checks, driver’s licence  checks and identification of un-licenced drivers, general vehicle road-worthiness checks.

Towards the end of April, the first batch 5 vehicles will be active on the roads building up to a fleet of 30 vehicles in coming months.