Big brother is watching 40 junctions

Big brother is watching 40 junctions
Broken A Road Rule? Cameras Will Capture It And Send Live Feed To Traffic Centre
A T Subrahmanya | TNN

Bangalore: Five large LCD monitors, showing real-time video streams beamed from different traffic junctions; another LCD screen showing signal counts at junctions. At the click of a mouse or joystick, traffic police personnel can zoom in or out and alert the men on the ground. There are different control rooms for different traffic zones.
Yes, you are being watched. Whether you jump a signal or inch into the zebra crossing at the red light or even jump lanes, don’t think you’ve got away as no policeman was around. Everything is being watched by officials at the Traffic Management Centre at the Ashoknagar police station.
Eighty surveillance cameras have been installed in as many junctions of which 40 are functioning. By September, all 80 cameras will begin operating. Five enforcement cameras are also in place at different locations to catch traffic violators on the sly.
The Traffic Management Centre can access any of these surveillance cameras to gauge the traffic situation. The autodome modular surveillance camera system can rotate 360 degrees. Traffic officials can zoom in — up to 1.5 km — and rotate the camera to any angle for a clear view.
Sub-inspector Sudhir R, who is in charge of the TMC, said footage can be stored for 15 days, giving the police enough time to take note of violations. Through these records, the police can collect the vehicle registration number and in case of any offence, send it to the automation centre which houses the database. Soon, the automation centre will also move to the Ashoknagar centre to further reduce processing time.
Under B-TRAC, 89 signals are vehicle-actuated (controlled by traffic density). The Vehicle Actuation Control programme is being implemented to reduce idle green time on a stretch when there is no traffic. The program will be installed and maintained by BEL.
The system works with a sensor placed underground just before the stop line and connected to the main server, which will turn the red light green if no vehicle passes on the road for four seconds.
Additional commissioner of police (traffic and security) Praveen Sood told TOI: “This system will help commuters, especially at night, as, in the absence of traffic, people have to wait till the light turns green. By September 10, 126 signals will be vehicle-actuated.’’
Training for cops
Thirty-seven police officials will go to Singapore for a one-month training in traffic management. “The team will comprise high and mid-level officials,’’ home minister V S Acharya said on Monday. The government had earlier experimented by sending officials abroad for training. However, that expertise was not put to use as the officers were shunted out of the departments.
REPORT VIOLATIONS
The traffic police have launched two IVRS telephone numbers on which citizens can call to report traffic violations or jams. “Many people don’t want to divulge their name or personal details. They can call the IVRS number and record their message in two minutes,’’ said additional commissioner of police Praveen Sood. The numbers are 25588444 and 25588555.

EYES ON THE ROAD: Split screens (left) at the Traffic Management Centre show the situation at different junctions. An official (top) monitors the scene. Officials at the centre can rotate the camera by 360 degrees and zoom in up to 1.5 km for a better view (right)