As traffic mismanagement and road safety continue to be growing concerns for our country, it is encouraging news that the government plans to establish an Integrated Traffic Management and Incident Detection System (ITMIDS).
Once approved, the $480.87 million initiative -- which is to be funded largely by a World Bank loan -- is expected to detect traffic and speed violations, as well as facilitate traffic flow analysis.
The multi-sectoral project will bring together various road agencies to improve coordination and risk management, and potentially reduce casualty rates on high-risk roads. Moreover, with simultaneous monitoring, the system can also be implemented on a larger scale in the long run.
This is a crucial project at this point in time for our nation, and can assist greatly in achieving our Sustainable Development Goals on road safety -- to provide access to safe, affordable, accessible, and sustainable transport systems for all.
Our roads have been riddled with a plethora of safety hazards, owing to the lack of a proper system in place, coupled with a general disregard for traffic laws.
The number of road accidents and fatalities have also increased at a shameful rate over the years, and it is of utmost importance that strict measures are taken to root out the very source of this life-threatening phenomenon.
With the video, audio, and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technologies that the project will use, we cannot but be hopeful that some much needed order will be restored on our roads.
It is crucial now that the authorities in charge green-light this project at the earliest, and that work begins immediately to implement the system in a thorough and efficient way.
We have let the dangerous state of our roads affect too many lives. It's high time we change that.
