It is nearly a year since traffic cameras were rolled out in the country to help rein in motorists who over speed and to improve road safety. Nicknamed “Sophia”, a name derived from the first humanoid project that was created, and went viral in Kigali after attending the Transform Africa Summit in 2019, the cameras have been considered to be effective in reducing road accidents. Any vehicle driving over 60 kilometres per hour is captured by the camera in 50 meters or less, photographed, and the fine is directly sent to the owner. Now, figures from RNP indicate that fatal and serious road accidents fell by 30 per cent in 2021 compared to 2019. The year 2020 was excluded from the comparison because it was marked by unprecedented lockdowns and movement restrictions. According to RNP figures, road accidents decreased from 1,467 in 2019 to 1,024 in 2021 thanks to speed cameras and other safety measures. Fatal road accidents scaled down from 622 in 2019 to 568 in 2021 whereas serious ones declined from 845 to 456 from 2019 to 2021, the police report says. Deaths and injuries resulting from the accidents have similarly decreased. Kigali accounted for 70 per cent of all road accidents that occurred in the country in 2021, while the Eastern provinces recorded 26 per cent of deaths resulting from accidents. Senior Superintendent of Police René Irere, the Spokesperson of Traffic Police said that these traffic cameras have played a huge role in enforcing road safety. “This is why we installed these cameras, to help us manage and reduce road accidents and the current figures show that the speed cameras along other road safety measures have yielded a good result,” he said. Road users too have weighed in on the impact of these cameras. Jean D’Amour Dushimire, a motorist from Gasabo District, also echoed the police views regarding road safety. “You can see that accidents have significantly reduced. As people who use roads, we realise that every day,” he said. Thiery Ishimwe, a driver said that: “An accident that can take place now would be out of the driver’s negligence, but not the speed, because the cameras are very active.” Prior to 2021, Police had installed five-speed cameras in four suburbs of Kigali city, but they were increased in early 2021 and reached almost every main road of different district urban areas. Recently, Police introduced more traffic cameras to reign in errant drivers who violate traffic rules.
