IndiaPublic sector2023 – ongoingKerala Motor Vehicles Department
Safe Kerala AI traffic enforcement cameras
Kerala's 726 AI traffic cameras caught about 9.8 million offenders in two years, but Rs 400 crore of Rs 631 crore in fines had been collected
Problem
Kerala wanted to cut road deaths and violations such as riding without helmets and seat belts. Manual enforcement could not cover the state's roads.
Approach
The Motor Vehicles Department installed 726 cameras under the Safe Kerala project at a cost of Rs 230 crore. They include 675 AI cameras that detect violations such as missing helmets, seat belts, phone use and triple riding. The project was inaugurated on 20 April 2023, a grace period ran to 19 May, and fines started in June 2023.
Results
Takeaway
The cameras detected violations at scale, but collection lagged behind the fines imposed. The Transport Department's reported fall in daily violations from 4.5 lakh to 2.1 lakh covered only the first weeks.
Categories
- Size
- Large enterprise
- Industry
- Public sector
- Business function
- Production and quality
- Innovation type
- Process innovation
- AI technology
- Computer vision
- Adoption
- Vendor solution
- Goal
- Quality and risk
- Evidence
- Press reporting
Sources
Source summaries
The New Indian Express reported on 3 April 2025 that Kerala installed 726 cameras costing Rs 230 crore and detected about 98 lakh offenders since June 2023. Fines imposed totalled Rs 631 crore, with Rs 400 crore collected. CPPR's chairman said the cameras should be judged by their impact on accidents.
Onmanorama reported the department's claim, in a report to the transport minister, that average daily violations fell from 4.5 lakh to 2.1 lakh after the project began. It said 726 cameras were installed, eight of them for speeding. The chief minister inaugurated the project on 20 April and a grace period ran to 19 May.
Full details are in the original sources.
