Road Safety and Technology Go Hand in Hand

Pereira, Colombia, is pioneering a photodetection initiative with lifesaving cameras to transform road safety and driver behaviour, setting a bold example for smart urban mobility in the digital age. By Marcela Neira Medina

Meet Juliana, a Pereira native who relies on the Megabus (the city’s public transport system) for her daily travels to and from work. She shares the road with over 103.000[1] fellow passengers, navigating through the city of 409.670[2] inhabitants who collectively make over a million trips daily[3]. Unfortunately, these trips are sometimes disrupted by the reckless behaviours of some road users, such as motorcycle and vehicle drivers, generating delays in trips, traffic jams, and even road accidents. In 2019 Pereira recorded 1,050 injuries and 71 deaths due to road incidents[4].

The Harsh Reality of Road Hazards

Juliana has witnessed several accidents on one of the main roads in the city, Av. 30 de Agosto, caused by drivers failing to comply with traffic rules, such as invading the exclusive BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) lane, exceeding speed limits, or not allowing safe pedestrian crossing. Imagine being on the bus, when a vehicle careens into the bus lane, causing a devastating accident or delaying vital services for hours for hours. Or picture waiting to cross the street to reach school or a medical appointment, feeling at risk because other users disregard traffic rules, speeding where they shouldn’t be.

Road accidents are one of the externalities of mobility, not only in Pereira but nationally and internationally, and are caused by different factors. “Human factors are the ones that contribute the most to the occurrence of road accidents, aggravated by clear deficiencies in infrastructure and some organizational problems”[5]. In 2020, Colombia experienced 5,641 road fatalities, with statistics indicating that “the main causes of road fatalities during this period are disobeying traffic signals and exceeding the established speed limit”[6]. Addressing these problems comprehensively is essential — not only to improve road safety, reduce the accident rate, and protect t citizens’ lives but also to make public transport more attractive, efficient and competitive compared to the use of private vehicles. This shift promotes a modal change towards public transport, thus contributing to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly city.

Pereira’s traffic management centre © Mobility Institute of Pereira

Addressing these problems comprehensively is essential — not only to improve road safety, reduce the accident rate, and protect t citizens’ lives but also to make public transport more attractive, efficient and competitive compared to the use of private vehicles. This shift promotes a modal change towards public transport, thus contributing to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly city.

Innovative Solutions: Lifesaving Cameras to the Rescue

In this sense, various tools can support the management of road safety issues, that in the long run generate positive changes in behaviour on the road, improving mobility conditions and reducing road accidents.

Analysis of the information captured by the cameras © Mobility Institute of Pereira

One of the most effective tools for “preventing unsafe driving behaviours” is life-saving cameras. GIZ is currently working on a project using life-saving cameras to inspect and control traffic in Pereira, aiming to enhance mobility and road safety. The project consists of developing a strategy that allows the successful implementation of photodetection, starting with a roadmap to enforce compliance with traffic regulations in the city through technological tools. In this phase, GIZ has conducted a detailed analysis of the entire process, from evidence collection to the validation, notification, contravention process, second instance, and portfolio. In addition, the strategy provides recommendations for the technical, technological, legal and administrative components.

The opportunities for digitalisation and technological developments are evident at different stages of the process: documenting evidence (photos and videos necessary to verify specific violations by a particular vehicle), analysing information, generating and consulting databases for vehicle and owner information, storing data, generating reports, and sending notifications. Several of these aspects will be developed for the pilot’s implementation, which will initially focus on a main corridor of the city before expanding to other roads.

Paving the Way for a Safer Future

After implementing photodetection in Pereira, the city anticipates noticeable changes in road users’ behaviours, improving mobility and road safety conditions. Of course, these actions must be accompanied by pedagogical and communication strategies towards citizens. The pilot will be monitored, measuring conflicts, infractions, road accidents, incidents, travel times and delays in the BRT system, among other indicators.

This will allow for the assessment of the project’s impacts, quantifying its effects in the short, medium, and long term. In addition, this initiative will be the first example at the national level of applying Article 181 of the National Development Plan 2022-2026, which allows the installation of technological means in transport system infrastructure to control the invasion of exclusive lanes in an intermediate city (departmental capitals, with a population between 100.000 and 1.000.000 inhabitants). The pilot in Pereira will serve as a benchmark for replicability in other Colombian cities and the region that facing similar issues, paving the way for a safer, more efficient urban environment.

[1] Steer Davies Gleave & Findeter, 2017. Mobility Master Plan and Pereira Parking Master Plan. Baseline and diagnosis of the current situation of mobility in Pereira.
[2] National Administrative Department of Statistics – DANE, 2019. National Population and Housing Census.
[3] Steer Davies Gleave & Findeter, 2017. Mobility Master Plan and Pereira Parking Master Plan. Baseline and diagnosis of the current situation of mobility in Pereira.
[4] Pereira Mayor’s Office & Pereira Mobility Institute, 2020. Local Road Safety Plan.
[5] González, Flórez, Patiño, Rodrggiuez & Ariza, 2018. Multi-causal analysis of traffic accidents in two cities of Colombia, University of Manizales – Colombia.

[6] National Road Safety Agency – ANSV, 2021. Booklet of Lifesaving Cameras.