Restoring order on our roads

Urban congestion and traffic violations pose a major challenge to public safety and governance globally, particularly in the Philippines.

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A significant part of this issue stems from reliance on traditional traffic enforcement involving human enforcers, who are prone to corruption, inconsistent application of laws, and questionable judgment due to inadequate training.

I have consistently advocated for a shift toward technologybased enforcement-specifically, the no-contact apprehension program (NCAP). However, this system has remained in limbo for nearly three years since its suspension in various Metro Manila cities following a Supreme Court restraining order in August 2022.

Despite its imperfections, I firmly support NCAP, believing in the effectiveness of technology in enforcing traffic rules. Technology is dispassionate, impartial, and free from personal discretion when determining violations.

Although technology cannot be held personally accountable, it also cannot be corrupted. Thus, the Philippines should consider adopting a national law to institutionalize NCAP.

Oral arguments regarding NCAP have already been presented before the Supreme Court, and the necessary comments have been submitted. While it is unclear if the issue is now ready for a decision, I hope the Supreme Court resolves the matter promptly and restores the use of NCAP in traffic enforcement.

Meanwhile, according to submissions by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO), the average monthly number of traffic violations recorded by surveillance cameras increased threefold since the suspension of NCAP in August 2022.

As previously mentioned in another column, no-contact apprehension is not a new concept.

Other countries have utilized camera-based traffic enforcement since the 1960s. The Dutch company Gatsometer BV introduced the first film-based redlight camera in 1965, followed by the first road traffic radar in 1971 and the first mobile speed camera in 1982.