Traffic police handle violations on Noi Bai-Lao Cai Expressway
linking Hanoi and northern Lao Cai Province based on data collected
from camera footage on a tablet. Photo by VnExpress/Ba Do.

Hanoi and HCMC will request residents to contribute footage captured by private cameras to better serve the traffic management in both municipalities.

Under a new project to install traffic surveillance cameras nationwide, Hanoi and HCMC will set up new cameras and upgrade existing ones as part of a plan to reduce the presence of traffic police on the streets.

However, as the number of cameras in use is likely to be insufficient for big cities, the project allows municipal traffic police departments to ask for footage that local households and private businesses capture on their security cameras.

This will be carried out based on a voluntary basis and the footage will only serve the purpose of traffic management and helping police deal with accidents, Colonel Do Thanh Binh, deputy head of the Traffic Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security, said Thursday.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Wednesday approved a VND2.15 trillion ($93 million) project to install traffic surveillance cameras on all national highways and expressways in the country.

The project will be implemented from now until 2025, using state budget, private investment and other funding sources.

The surveillance system in Hanoi and HCMC will have added software to warn the cities of traffic jam zones and identify vehicles for supervision, like those that are stolen or involved in hit and run accidents.

Traffic police in both cities will be provided with tablets to serve their street patrol and accident investigation functions.

Once it takes effect, the police will only have the duty of patrolling the streets occasionally, regulating traffic on special occasions, handling traffic jams and dealing with accidents, the project document says.