Safe City” expands to Bllacë as well; fines expected to bring in about 10 million euros a year

The “Safe City” system is expected to cover the country’s entire territory by February. The expansion will begin in Strumicë, continue in Shtip and then move to Manastir. Traffic-monitoring cameras will also be installed at the Bllacë border crossing.

Interior Minister Pançe Toshkovski presented the plans at a press conference where he reviewed the project’s first year of implementation.

According to the announced schedule, the system is due to officially begin operating in the SPB-Strumicë area in the first week of December. Work in Shtip is expected to be completed by the end of the year, before the expansion continues to Manastir.

Testing of new cameras in police vehicles is expected to begin next month. The equipment is expected to be fully operational by February at the latest. From then on, mobile cameras in police vehicles will be able to measure the speed of other vehicles and record violations even while patrols are moving.

The Interior Ministry also plans to acquire new mobile radar devices for use at so-called black spots, where serious accidents resulting in deaths or severe injuries occur most frequently.

Toshkovski explained that, according to analyses, fixed cameras are not enough to achieve the intended deterrent effect: drivers slow down before reaching the radar devices but speed up again after passing them. For that reason, he said, experts have proposed equipping existing police vehicles with systems that can measure the speed of other road users while patrols are moving.

Booths where fines for vehicles with foreign license plates can be paid will also be installed at Bllacë. The minister advised drivers passing through the border crossing to download the app and check whether they committed any violations during their stay in the country. He said faster payment of fines would help prevent delays at the border.

Further expansion and operation of the system require funding. According to Interior Ministry projections disclosed by Toshkovski, traffic fines are expected to bring in about 10 million euros a year. Of that amount, 25 percent will go to the police budget to be reinvested in road safety and improvements to the system.

The minister also announced that “Safe City” had won first place in the “Excellence in Road Safety” category at the World Police Summit in Dubai. The project ranked ahead of the police forces of Singapore and Abu Dhabi, Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority, and the police service of the Indian state of Maharashtra.

More than 700 nominations from over 60 countries were submitted for the summit’s awards across 13 categories. The winners were determined through independent professional assessment, interviews and a review of technological and operational results.

Speaking about the award, Toshkovski recalled that when the “Safe City” project began, many people doubted whether the system, which had been discussed for years, would finally work. He said he was honored to announce the progress made and the first-place award Macedonia had won in the road safety category at the Dubai summit.