The problematic pilot phase of the new traffic camera system is turning into a nightmare for authorities, as the worse fears of the traffic department are being realised, with technical and operational weaknesses noted in the proposed system since 2019.
According to a Philenews report, more than 80 thousand tickets to drivers are swamping the system, blocking the implementation of the next stage indefinitely.
The main issue seem to be practical inadequacies in the timely delivery of the fines, with a 2019 letter predicting that there would be more than one million tickets handed out each year, more than the system could handle.
There are also problems with identifying the offenders, something that was also noted by traffic department officers three years ago. As a result, people are recorded more than once under different names, creating logistical blockage.
More than five months since the pilot phase of the traffic cameras was launched, more than 80 thousand drivers have been fined, almost paralysing the system. Traffic offenders have yet to receive their fines, more than four months following incidents, while a number of people have not come forward to receive them.
Logistical issues are delaying the start of the first phase of the traffic camera programme, with the installation of a further 20 steady cams and 16 mobile ones. Authorities have requested a three month delay in receiving the cameras.
One of the main problems that the traffic department had warned about three years ago was the large numbers of fines every month, in the many dozens of thousands, which would lead to a blockage of the mail delivery system, with many such fines not being delivered and returned to police, while many drivers would avoid receiving them to prevent payment.
It was also stressed that raising the fines would be a motive of non-payment and this in turn would swamp courts not able to handle the hundreds of cases of drivers not paying their fines.
