High-tech traffic cameras installed in Mandaue City

Starting Wednesday, December 6, the Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (Team) began a three-month trial of two real-time monitoring cameras with one unit installed in a static location in Mandaue City and another one attached to a Team vehicle.
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THREE-MONTH TRIAL

The Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (Team) yesterday started a three-month trial of real-time monitoring cameras capable of monitoring the speed of passing vehicles, recognizing the face of wanted persons, and detecting carnapped vehicles through their plate numbers.

According to Team head, Glenn Antigua, the cameras can capture the images of plate numbers and the identifying marks of vehicles even at a distance and at night as these have infra red and zooming capabilities.

The system’s facial recognition feature allows law enforcers to flag wanted persons who have passed the cameras while the license plate recognition can immediately flag vehicles involved in hot pursuit.

During the three-month trial, one unit was installed in a fixed area in Mandaue while another camera was placed inside a mobile unit roving the city.

The cameras, which can register traffic violations like overspeeding, illegal parking, counterflowing, illegal turns, and illegal entry, will immediately send photos and the license plate number of erring vehicles to the Land Transportation Office (LTO) which, in turn, will call the attention of the driver or operator concerned.

A Temporary Operator’s Permit (TOP) or a citation ticket will then be issued.

“Dugay na ta nga nag-request og speed gun aron duna ta’y basihan sa overspeeding nga mga trucks nga gidili sa atong ordinansa tungod sa daghan nang mga disgrasya sa kusog nga dagan sa mga dagkong sakyanan hangtud nga niabot na gyud ning camera nga daghan og dala (We have long been requesting for a speed gun so we can have a basis to apprehend overspeeding trucks that violate our ordinance due to the many accidents involving overspeeding trucks until we got this multi-system camera),” said Antigua.

A radar speed gun is a device used to measure the speed of moving objects.

Under the Mandaue City traffic ordinance, trucks are only allowed a speed of 40 kilometers per hour.

Mayor Luigi Quisumbing in a Facebook post said that if the trial run will prove to be effective, the city will purchase 15 systems for twelve major intersections and three mobile units.

Sought for comments on Mandaue City’s plan to install the new cameras, 46-year-old tricycle driver Raul Lumbab, a resident of Barangay Ibabao, told Cebu Daily News that while drivers generally find the city’s traffic rules very stringent, people have no choice but to carefully observe the law or face stiffer fines and penalties.

“Bisan og walay makit-an nga mga traffic enforcers, motuman lang gyud ta sa lagda sa trapiko aron dili ta kabayad og dagko kaayong multa (Although there are no traffic enforcers around, let’s just follow traffic rules so that we won’t have to pay the huge fines),” said Lumbab.

He also welcomed the new traffic measure so that drivers will keep road discipline and the streets will be cleared of obstructions.