Even as the technology behind traffic signals have come a long way, the Kozhikode city still relies on its outdated fixed-time signals at major intersections. The old electro-mechanical signal controllers that often malfunction during peak hours paint a sorry figure, when cities like Bengaluru experiment with installation of adaptive signals under road safety programmes.
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The city traffic police said the Adaptive Traffic Control System (ATCS), one of the modern traffic management strategies to ensure smooth vehicle flow by reducing human interventions based on actual traffic demand, could be easily experimented in any of the 10 junctions in the city. No concrete proposals have been put forward by the departments concerned to allocate necessary funds and make it a reality, they added.
“ATCS-based traffic control system can be a very effective solution, in at least three major junctions covering Malaparamba, Thondayad and Mavoor Road, where any unexpected snarls can lead to a chaotic situation. As adaptive signals can manage the real-time traffic, no direct human interventions will be required even at peak hours,” said a senior traffic police officer. According to him, the road safety fund or the development funds of people’s representatives can be effectively invested to realise it.
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The frequently malfunctioning of the fixed-time traffic signals, owing to delayed renewal of annual maintenance contracts, often requires police officers to control traffic manually. Their toil withstanding scorching heat during mass conventions and demonstrations goes unnoticed.
“What we have now is a chain of high-end Artificial Intelligence surveillance cameras for enforcement actions. A similar enthusiasm is missing in the case of upgrading the traffic control systems that can avail its benefits directly to the motorists,” said a senior functionary of the Kerala Road Accident Action Forum. He added that the Kerala Road Safety Authority and the Motor Vehicles department could easily make the required intervention in the area.
Taxi and ambulance drivers on the Kozhikode-Kannur route said the installation of adaptive signalling systems would be an advantage for the city, with the completion of the ongoing national highway widening works. They added that traffic snarls in major interjections triggered by the outdated traffic control system would undermine the advantages of having a four-lane road.