KUALA LUMPUR: Highway safety enforcement will take a whole-of-government approach with enforcement agencies working together to tackle traffic violations and respond to emergencies.
Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi, who disclosed this, said the Smart Highway Traffic Monitoring Centre launched yesterday was part of the effort with its automated detection and monitoring to improve highway safety.
The system can detect vehicles travelling against the flow of traffic, illegal lane changes, traffic congestion and illegal stopping or parking.
It can also monitor rubbish dumping, illegal advertising of banners, posters and signboards, as well as provide early flood warnings.
Other features include detecting potholes and road damage, liquid spills, vehicle breakdowns and pedestrian presence, as well as automatically counting and categorising vehicles.
Nanta said the system currently could not be used to directly issue traffic summonses to offenders, but added that data and footage captured by it could be used by police to assist in enforcement.
“The emergency response times for patrol teams has been reduced from 15 minutes to about eight to 10 minutes, following the introduction of the automated monitoring system,” he said during the launch at the Besraya Traffic Monitoring Centre at Plaza Tol Loke Yew here yesterday.
He said said the Malaysian Highway Authority’s (LLM) monitoring centre monitored traffic conditions round-the-clock through 873 CCTVs while 278 Variable Message Signs (VMS) were used to communicate information and warnings to highway users.
The Traffic Control Centre integrates 144 CCTV, 87 Video Incident Detection System (VIDS), 35 Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and 22 VMS units.
Nanta said the information enabled immediate action to be coordinated and warnings to be communicated to users via VMS, navigation apps, social media and traffic information channels, especially during peak hours or festive seasons.
