The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) says it will consider measures to give motorists advance notice of speed camera locations under the Traffictech-GH system to promote fairness in enforcing road traffic regulations.
The Authority’s Director-General, Abraham Amaliba, said the NRSA would engage relevant road infrastructure agencies to install warning signs alerting motorists to the presence of speed cameras on roads where the system is being implemented.
Speaking in an interview on Wednesday, November 4, during a discussion on Ghana’s road safety blueprint, Mr Amaliba said motorists should already expect speed cameras on roads with clearly displayed speed limits, particularly following public education on the Traffictech system.
However, he acknowledged concerns that the absence of specific warning signs could create the perception that authorities were deliberately positioning speed cameras to catch motorists and impose fines.
He said motorists should be given adequate advance notice before enforcement is introduced in specific areas.
“Once you have the signage which says 50 km/h, as a driver, you should know that with the rollout of Traffictech, a camera will be there watching you,” he said.
“But I agree that we need to give motorists notice a fair time, and we’ll consider that,” he added.
Mr Amaliba said the NRSA would deploy mobile speed cameras mounted on vehicles alongside fixed cameras installed at strategic points across the country.
He explained that the mobile units would be rotated between locations, with particular attention to areas identified as hotspots for speeding.
According to him, the mobile cameras would complement the fixed installations, as installing permanent speed cameras on every road nationwide would not be practical.
“No, these mobile vehicles will be shifting there because there are areas that are prone to overspeeding,” he said.
“So, if you don’t have a camera there, this vehicle would move there to start taking the videos. The mobile cameras on the vehicles are supposed to augment the still cameras or, if you want, those fixed on the poles.”
He noted that mobile cameras were essential for monitoring roads without fixed speed detection systems.
“We cannot have cameras on all our roads in the country. So these mobile cameras are still relevant. We’ll still be using them,” he said.
Mr Amaliba said the responsibility for installing the required warning signs rested with road agencies, including the Department of Urban Roads, the Department of Feeder Roads and the Ghana Highway Authority.
He was responding to concerns about whether motorists would receive advance warning when approaching roads monitored by speed cameras.
He explained that the agencies would be expected to erect signs alerting drivers to the presence of speed cameras along designated road sections.
“That is for the road infrastructure agencies to begin to put those things there,” he said.
“We have the road infrastructure agencies like Urban Roads, Feeder Roads, Highways. So they have the responsibility to put those signs there to indicate that on this road we have a camera watching you.”
Mr Amaliba further explained that the Traffictech system would deploy various types of cameras, including fixed installations, mobile units mounted on vehicles and tripod-mounted devices.
He said the tripod cameras could be set up along roads to detect speeding, using equipment similar to that employed by surveyors during road measurements.
He explained that motorists could be monitored by tripod-mounted cameras, mobile surveillance vehicles or permanently installed speed cameras.
“And what we have now is a tripod. Sometimes you can see a tripod on the road, like the engineers or the surveyors. You see the surveyors always have a tripod trying to do their work on the road. It could be like that,” he explained.
He added that all three camera technologies would be deployed as part of the country’s digital traffic enforcement system.
“So you also have the vehicles, and then we have the fixed one. So all of this is the gamut of technology that we are using. So none is going to replace the other,” he said.
