Safe City to expand nationwide; fines expected to yield €10 million a year
Ministry of Internal Affairs says Safe City will get mobile speed cameras and be fully implemented nationwide by the end of next year.
The Safe City surveillance system will be rolled out across the whole country and is expected to generate about €10 million a year in traffic fines, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Panche Toshkovski, announced.
Toshkovski said the system has already issued sanctions to ministers, agency directors and church representatives alike, and that past attempts to influence or reverse penalties stopped after his intervention. He added that "There is no official who has not confirmed to me that they received a fine and paid it."
Expansion and new technology
The ministry plans further technological upgrades and geographic expansion of Safe City. New mobile speed cameras will be introduced and recording devices will be fitted into police vehicles so infractions can be captured while the patrols are moving.
Implementation will be extended to Bitola, Shtip and Strumica, and the ministry expects the system to be fully deployed nationwide by the end of next year.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs also said Safe City won the Grand Prix in Dubai, competing with entries from more than 60 countries and 700 nominations across 13 categories. Officials point to the award as recognition of measurable safety benefits following the system's introduction.
According to ministry figures, 2,131 people lost their lives in traffic accidents over the past 15 years — an average of 142 per year. Since Safe City was launched, fatal traffic accidents have fallen by 31.5 percent, the ministry reported.
Photo: press material from the event
