Under the present computerised signalling system, automatic timer devices fix time slots for vehicular movement and halts, irrespective of the thickness of traffic flow.

Now, a new sensor based Area Traffic Control System will be installed at 51 major junctions across Ahmedabad at a cost of Rs 2.83 crore. The sensors will analyse the actual physical details like the number of vehicles passing through the intersection, their type and their speed and feed the data to the signals for activating the traffic lights.

According to a statement released by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), a loop detector (sensor) installed at zebra crossings and stop lines would record the movement of each passing vehicle and pass on the data to the intersection controller installed at the junction, which would in turn, pass it on to the central control room. There the data will be first analysed and then furnished to the controller at the junction, which would modify the stoppage timing and activate the traffic signal accordingly.

The AMC has said the new system would reduce the stoppage and delay time, fuel consumption, as also the pollution levels at intersections.

Also as the traffic junctions will be equipped with cameras, it will be possible in the near future to digitally record RTO registration numbers of vehicles passing through the junctions concerned. With the help of such recording, vehicle theft cases will be easy to detect, and criminals and anti socials will be tracked down with greater accuracy and swiftness, the release said.