NRSC takes over Arandis traffic management system
Now a national opportunity
Arandis Town Council's recent handover of its high-tech emergency response and traffic management center to the National Roads Safety Council will allow for the system to expand nationally.
About six months after the Arandis Emergency Response and Traffic Management Center (AERTMC) was commissioned, the Arandis Town Council handed it over to the National Roads Safety Council (NRSC).
The handover was officially done by Erongo governor Neville Andre at Swakopmund recently.
This center, which comprises of its control base at Arandis’ entrance from the B2, and several sophisticated masted cameras and monitoring censors, and digital signs, along about a 50 km stretch of B2 from Arandis toward Usakos and Swakopmund, was developed through a partnership between the Arandis Town Council and the National Roads Safety Council.
Arandis CEO, Stanley Norris, explained that the town council gave four hectares of land towards the centre. Norris said the AERTMC falls in line with Arandis’ vision to position itself as the region’s emergency response hub considering the B2 also serves as a main component of the Trans-Kalahari Highway. It all started with the aim to establish a fire station at the site, when the need to partner with the NRSC became necessary, and so the partnership was created, which also resulted in the creation of the centre.
AERTMC basically monitors, collects and analyzes traffic activity, motorist behavior and emergencies situations on the road, enabling prompt dispatching of corrective service, such as traffic policing, vehicle recovery or medical emergency response.
Besides the censors, video capturing and expert observations, facilitate the planning for precautionary and safety measures to help reduce accidents and the loss of lives, as well as facilitates incident reconstruction and evidence in the subsequent litigations. It is considered the most advanced traffic management system in the country, and is based along one of the most dangerous roads in Namibia. Namibia’s Road Traffic Management Services (RTMS) was appointed to operate the system in collaboration with their technology partner, Efkon South Africa.
AERTMC operations manager, Bazil Calogero, said that since the centre’s commissioning about six months ago, there have been 14 traffic incidents, which included two fatalities. This is said to be an improvement in this road area described as an accident “hotspot” in Namibia. An interesting observation is of one violation of the speed limit where the culprit drove 207km/h.
He also noted that potential traffic offences are also taking place outside of the monitored area, which was a sign that the system does serve as a deterrent of offences, and that is exactly one of the reason why more of the road (of not it’s entire stretch) should be connected to the system. That will cost money though, and this is what makes the handover of the centre to the NRSC important.
“It is good that a national structure now oversees the project because now it can expand to other parts of the country,” Calogero told Erongo 24/7.
NRSC executive secretary, Eugene Tendekule, explained that the overall system covering the entire road from Usakos to Swakopmund was estimated at N$185,2 million, and the NRSC opted to implement this in phases.
What was launched last year is the interim phase which cost about N$27,65 million. The council receives fuel levies from the ministry of mines and energy, through the National Energy Fund, from on-road fuel consumption from which it intends to finance the expansion of the current system, and duplication thereof in other parts of the country.
The handover was officially done by Erongo governor Neville Andre at Swakopmund recently.
This center, which comprises of its control base at Arandis’ entrance from the B2, and several sophisticated masted cameras and monitoring censors, and digital signs, along about a 50 km stretch of B2 from Arandis toward Usakos and Swakopmund, was developed through a partnership between the Arandis Town Council and the National Roads Safety Council.
Arandis CEO, Stanley Norris, explained that the town council gave four hectares of land towards the centre. Norris said the AERTMC falls in line with Arandis’ vision to position itself as the region’s emergency response hub considering the B2 also serves as a main component of the Trans-Kalahari Highway. It all started with the aim to establish a fire station at the site, when the need to partner with the NRSC became necessary, and so the partnership was created, which also resulted in the creation of the centre.
AERTMC basically monitors, collects and analyzes traffic activity, motorist behavior and emergencies situations on the road, enabling prompt dispatching of corrective service, such as traffic policing, vehicle recovery or medical emergency response.
Besides the censors, video capturing and expert observations, facilitate the planning for precautionary and safety measures to help reduce accidents and the loss of lives, as well as facilitates incident reconstruction and evidence in the subsequent litigations. It is considered the most advanced traffic management system in the country, and is based along one of the most dangerous roads in Namibia. Namibia’s Road Traffic Management Services (RTMS) was appointed to operate the system in collaboration with their technology partner, Efkon South Africa.
AERTMC operations manager, Bazil Calogero, said that since the centre’s commissioning about six months ago, there have been 14 traffic incidents, which included two fatalities. This is said to be an improvement in this road area described as an accident “hotspot” in Namibia. An interesting observation is of one violation of the speed limit where the culprit drove 207km/h.
He also noted that potential traffic offences are also taking place outside of the monitored area, which was a sign that the system does serve as a deterrent of offences, and that is exactly one of the reason why more of the road (of not it’s entire stretch) should be connected to the system. That will cost money though, and this is what makes the handover of the centre to the NRSC important.
“It is good that a national structure now oversees the project because now it can expand to other parts of the country,” Calogero told Erongo 24/7.
NRSC executive secretary, Eugene Tendekule, explained that the overall system covering the entire road from Usakos to Swakopmund was estimated at N$185,2 million, and the NRSC opted to implement this in phases.
What was launched last year is the interim phase which cost about N$27,65 million. The council receives fuel levies from the ministry of mines and energy, through the National Energy Fund, from on-road fuel consumption from which it intends to finance the expansion of the current system, and duplication thereof in other parts of the country.
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