[File Photo]

The Land Transport Authority is considering a major overhaul of its enforcement strategy as it struggles with a growing number of vehicles and severe staffing shortages.

It says it is moving towards automation to monitor roads and ensure driver compliance.

Chief Executive Irimaia Rokosawa acknowledges the progress made in reducing fatalities, including zero road deaths in February and a 16% drop between 2023 and 2024.

However, he stresses that the 66 lives lost last year highlight the urgent need for more effective enforcement measures.

Rokosawa says the authority is struggling with staffing as vehicle numbers keep rising.

“So in terms of manpower, back in 2022 in terms of vehicle registration and our manpower, it was one enforcement officer for every 1,500 vehicles. Right now, as of December 2024, it’s one enforcement officer for every 1,600 vehicles. So the percentage increase in vehicles is more than the percentage increase in our human resources.”

Rokosawa believes by digitizing their services, they will be able to tackle this issue.

“Technology is moving very fast. Our process is still probably lagging behind. Some of our process is still in the manual environment. For us to fully address road safety on the roads and improve our process, we need our process to be fully automated and lessen human interventions and ensure that there are proper detection controls and preventive controls in our system.”

He says the authority plans to implement more automated systems such as number plate recognition cameras.

Assistant Minister for Transport Naisa Tuinaceva agrees manpower alone is not enough and technology such as speed cameras is needed to assist the LTA.

He says these tools will make work much easier and more efficient, and the government is ready to assist LTA and other road safety agencies.

“There are certain things that cannot be detected by the machine, but only human eyes can pick up on certain conditions in terms of vehicle standards to determine the real condition of the vehicle and the fitness standards that are required by law to pass a motor vehicle.”

Tuinaceva says the Ministry will carefully review the budget submission for the next financial year in a bid to ensure the LTA can perform its duties effectively.

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