21-6-2023 (BANGKOK) The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is using artificial intelligence (AI) software to catch traffic violators and manage traffic flow at intersections, Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said on Wednesday. The BMA is using AI at eight locations in the city.
Governor Sittipunt said that technology could be applied to catch offenders, especially those who put pedestrians at risk. The BMA was using AI software to catch traffic violators using existing surveillance cameras connected to optical fibre networks. AI can spot violators and then report them, a task previously handled solely by city police.
The BMA is using the vehicle registration database of the Land Transport Department to find the addresses of traffic violators and send them notices requiring they pay fines at their district offices within 30 days. The AI program is being used at locations in the city, including at the mouths of Ratchadaphisek 36, Phetkasem 28, and Phetchaburi 9 roads; and in front of Niwetwarin School in Bang Khen district and at a petrol station.
From June 12-20, 2,990 motorcyclists were caught riding illegally on footpaths in those areas. Governor Sittipunt said that 1,884 were ordinary motorcyclists, 592 taxi motorcyclists, and the rest deliverymen. The BMA also used AI to catch motorists who parked their vehicles in no-parking areas near CentralWorld shopping centre, in the Pratunam area, and on Nana Road. The AI program identified vehicles that were parked for more than five minutes and reported them to the police.
Governor Sittipunt said that in about two more months, the BMA would expand the AI system to 100 other locations prone to traffic violations, and later it would be expanded to control traffic lights. There were traffic lights at about 500 locations in Bangkok, and in many areas, they were still controlled by timers and did not adjust to actual traffic conditions. Using AI should greatly improve traffic flow, he added.
