Over 100 high-res cameras, AI-system and Radar units- How NHAI’s new traffic system on Dwarka Expressway aim to curb India’s infamous road fatalities record

At the control room of Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) on Dwarka Expressway, a video and photo pops up on Abhishek Singh’s computer monitor. Singh, a traffic operator, clicks at the 15-second video that records an SUV is passing through at the speed of 163 kilometres per hour at 8.29 am from Bharthal chowk on the expressway. The photo flashes the number plate of the vehicle. The photo and video was generated by the Incident Detection & Enforcement System (VIDES), which is one of the key component of ATMS ecosystem and is equipped with advanced sensors including Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras, overview cameras, and radar units on the Dwarka Expressway.

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“These are very advanced cameras, which sends accurate visual of the violations. We check these videos and photos, which is created by the Al-powered system from 8 to 10 frames, to make sure that there is no error in the violations. The cameras are right at 90 percent times,” said Singh, as he forwards the violations, after auditing, to the NIC for further action by district authorities.

The ATMS on Dwarka Expressway, which became operational from April this year, is the first project to be implemented as per the upgraded policy of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) issued in October 2023, which mandates the use of advancements in AI technology and new cameras for enforcement of traffic rules. The project is being implemented through Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL), a company promoted by NHAI. The new system bridges the gap between district traffic police and the highway authority, and share the camera feed to check violations, issue challans and reduce incident response time. The share of National Highways in fatalities is more than 35 per cent, while only making up about two per cent of the total road length.