AI Traffic Camera Errors In Bengaluru Fixed Through Manual Review By Cops: How to Dispute Fines

An online forum recently highlighted the issue of Artificial Intelligence (AI) traffic cameras in Bengaluru inaccurately detecting seat belt violations. The images shared by a Reddit user show a car driving through a busy road in Bengaluru city, with the driver allegedly issued a false ticket or fine twice.

The camera detected a violation because it thought the driver was not wearing a seatbelt, but upon closer inspection, it appears that the driver was indeed wearing a seatbelt. The issue arises because the AI camera cannot detect the seatbelt of the car because it is finished in the same shade as the driver's shirt.

Typically, cars in India come with black seatbelts, but some premium cars may have seatbelts finished in beige or lighter shades to match the interior theme. However, the AI camera is not programmed to detect this, leading to false tickets being issued.

This is not an isolated incident, as the AI cameras were previously found to be malfunctioning, failing to read registration numbers correctly and detecting rivets or screws on number plates as zeros and issuing fines to the wrong owners.

The Bengaluru police department has acknowledged the shortcomings of the AI traffic monitoring system and is revalidating challans manually. The joint commissioner of police (traffic), M N Anucheth, stated that the department has reached 99.9% accuracy after manual validation of all violations.

For those who have received a wrong fine, there are ways to dispute it. The steps are:

• Write to [email protected]
• Visit the Traffic Management Centre on Infantry Road
• Download the Karnataka State Police (KSP) app on Android or iOS and use the option to view a challan and raise a dispute.