ANPR cameras detect 15,000 traffic violations in Madurai

Madurai: If you are among the motorists who recently received a text message stating that you have been fined Rs 1,000 for riding without a helmet or using a mobile phone while driving, traffic police have a warning — pay it before your driving licence faces suspension. For others, the message is direct: Avoid violations, as Madurai city police are preparing to widen their automatic traffic violation detection network across more junctions.

After years of delay, Madurai has joined Chennai and Coimbatore in using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras for traffic enforcement. Six cameras were installed at Kalavasal, Mattuthavani and East Gate junctions last year. The system captures offences such as riding without helmets, signal jumping, over-speeding and overloading of goods vehicles. Vehicle registration numbers are extracted through software and backend teams generate e-challans against vehicle owners.

According to police data, the six cameras have detected close to 15,000 violations so far. Officials said this accounts for nearly one-third of the average monthly traffic cases otherwise booked manually by field officers across the city.

A senior traffic official said police are planning to expand the ANPR network to at least 10 more locations this year and integrate more existing surveillance cameras into the system.

“Earlier, we had to physically stop vehicles, chase violators or block roads during enforcement drives. Many riders would suddenly swerve and escape, creating risks for both police personnel and motorists,” a sub-inspector posted at East Gate junction said.

“Now, people notice the cameras and many know they may receive a fine message on their phones later. Compared to before, I see fewer helmet violations at this junction,” he added.

Motorists and road safety activists, however, said the system still has gaps. At Kalavasal junction, several riders without helmets reportedly stop a few hundred metres before the signal, outside the camera coverage zone. Once the signal turns green, they move between heavy vehicles so that the cameras fail to capture their registration plates.

“If ANPR is working efficiently, why does wrong-side driving continue every day on the Madurai bypass stretch near Kalavasal?” asked R Jayachandran, a resident who regularly travels through the junction.

Transport activist M Rajmurugan said automated systems alone could not replace field enforcement in cities such as Madurai. “ANPR can support enforcement, but it cannot become a substitute for visible policing,” he said.

He also raised concerns over fine recovery. “Even Chennai struggled to collect penalties and reports showed only around 30% of imposed fines were eventually recovered,” he added.

Madurai city traffic police deputy commissioner S Vanitha did not respond to queries.