The Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, with the support of the National Automobile Union (NAU), discussed legislative initiatives to regulate photo-video recording (PVF) of traffic violations. After the meeting, representatives of the parliamentary chamber and the National Assembly prepared an appeal (available on socialbites.ca) to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and all deputies of the State Duma Transport Committee. Legal revision of the Code of Administrative Offenses.
The key innovation in the activists’ proposal is the recognition of drivers by biometric parameters.
“The story of the fines along with Face ID and the “average speed” for scooter owners, pedestrians and cyclists should be included in the new draft Administrative Offenses Act, NAS vice president Anton Shaparin told Gazeta.ru. .
Shaparin argues that with the help of videotape cameras, 89% of all fines have already been issued, in the future the state wants to further reduce traffic police personnel and give maximum control to the cameras.
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In addition, it is planned to record not only traffic violations committed by drivers, but also with the help of cameras.
also for users of pedestrians, cyclists and other personal mobility aids (scooters, unicycles, etc.).
It’s already technically possible to detect violators’ faces using Face ID, Shaparin said. A huge database of photos has already been accumulated by the state, and the technology is used to pay in the Moscow metro. The capital could become a testing ground for the new system, he explained.
The US appeal proposes to enact the term “average speed” in Art. 12.9 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
Cameras recording such a parameter (measuring travel time between two points) have been operating in Russia since 2013, but the State traffic inspectorate abandoned this practice last year due to lack of regulatory support, Kommersant reported. NAS experts stressed that this method is “an effective tool for improving road safety.”
According to the US, introducing “average speed” allows you to harmonize traffic.
It is also recommended to make public information about the installation sites of each road camera complex, the features of their work, their certificates and verification documents.
According to the national project “Safe quality roads”, by 2023 the number of traffic cameras will increase by 188% (compared to 2017), 211% by 2024 and 250% by 2030.
“The national project provides a huge increase in the number of traffic cameras. The question is how to use it – to prevent accidents or get money,” Shaparin added.
In 2021, the Ministry of Interior fined 179.5 million for traffic violations.
Of these, 160.7 million were detected using video recording tools. According to NAS’s research, thanks to cameras, the number of accidents is falling twice, and the death toll three to six times faster than the average on the road.
Drivers ignore cameras
In the United States, decisions made by cameras are not made by the owner of the car, but by the perpetrator – a facial recognition system works,’ recalls Viktor Travin, chairman of the Automobile Owners Legal Protection Board (KPZA). . The specialist supports the launch of such an innovation in Russia, but is confident that this will require a huge change and serious expenses in the entire video recording system.
“I don’t think this norm is necessary in a narrow space like bikes and scooters – it’s trivial. If it works for all car drivers, then great – the European civil penalty system. I’m not sure that’s possible,” Travin said.
On the contrary, the attempt to impose penalties for violation of the average speed of movement caused criticism of the head of KPZA. The aim of this control method is not to harmonize the traffic, but to renew the budgets of the regions. Information about the location of the cameras should also not be freely available, the interlocutor is sure.
“Cameras do not affect driver psychology for a long time.
Such fines are perceived as another item of expenditure, along with shipping tax, OSAGO and maintenance,” says Travin.
The disclosure of more detailed information about video recording cameras was welcomed by Leonid Olshansky, the deputy head of the Russian Motorists Movement. At the same time, in his opinion, changes to the system of facial recognition of road users will not pass in the Code of Administrative Offenses.
“This is an attack on privacy. The cameras in the subway are a completely different matter, this is an offer from the Ministry of Transport. And if a person agrees to this, they voluntarily transfer their data,” he said.
Face ID does not break the glass
Sergey Laskin, CEO of Astralab, which develops software for traffic police and data center cameras, will explain that it will be difficult to implement biometrics for drivers in practice.
“Video recording cameras are installed at a height of 6-10 meters from the road.
Also, the windshield is not always clean, refracting the light, making it difficult to see the driver. In most cases, this system will not work at all because it will not be able to recognize faces properly. And the worse the face looks, the more misrecognition, ”the expert told socialbites.ca.
While it’s technically not difficult to apply another layer of neural networks to traffic camera systems for facial recognition, Laskin notes. The CEO of Astralab says that the problem will be solved with special cameras, where neural networks are installed lower (about 2 meters), their price is several times less than traditional road complexes.
Source: Gazeta
