For Frank Harelimana, a driver with Yego Cabs, Kanzenze, a village in Bugesera District in Eastern Province, is one place where he is extremely cautious while driving due to traffic enforcement cameras installed in the area. “So far, I have been fined twice for speeding, because it can view and analyse from long range. As a result, I have always driven carefully when I approach that area”. Jean Pierre Nsengimana, another driver, said that if installed countrywide, cameras will be able to prevent most road accidents and other traffic offences because they can detect what would normally be difficult for the police officer. “The camera, unlike the police officer, is able to detect when a driver has a seatbelt on or if a motorist has been speaking on the phone,” Nsengimana said. He said that this will serve as a major deterrent to traffic offences. Speaking to The new Times, the spokesperson of Traffic and Road Safety Department of Rwanda National Police, Senior Superintendent Jean Marie Vianney Ndushabandi, said that motorists should always be more focused on road safety other than looking out for spots where the cameras are stationed. “The government embarked on this project in order to increase road safety, and minimise accidents,” he said. He added that there are mobile cameras as well, which tracks all those who only abide by the laws in areas where they know that there are cameras. “Mobile cameras have also been introduced to trace those drivers who only want to respect the law when they know that there are stationary cameras ahead”. Ndushabandi urged motorists to pay more attention to their responsibility on the road, which is abiding by all the rules that govern road safety, and be less concerned about the cameras that punish wrong doers. The cameras are fitted with number plate identification software that immediately sends an SMS to the registered owner of the vehicle informing them of violation committed and the corresponding traffic ticket. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
