MUP KS installs cameras due to cars at bus stops: Drivers face fines and penalty points

(Patria) - The Police Directorate is implementing a project to install cameras at stops in order to reduce illegal parking and stopping of motor vehicles at bus stops. The cameras will be installed at a total of 27 stops in Stari Grad, Centar, Novo Sarajevo, Novi Grad and Ilidža. Most of the work has been completed, and it is expected that the installation of cameras at the remaining four stops will be completed next week.

The implementation of this project was preceded by the development of a study titled “System for recording violations of illegal stopping and parking of motor vehicles at public transport stops in the Sarajevo Canton area,” which the Police Directorate of the MUP of Sarajevo Canton completed in November 2022. In June 2023, the implementation of this project was approved by the Government of Sarajevo Canton, after which the procurement of equipment began.

As stated by the Minister of Interior of Sarajevo Canton, Admir Katica, stopping, parking, and even leaving cars for extended periods at certain bus stops is one of the serious elements threatening traffic safety.

“Stopping at a bus stop to go to an ATM, a store, or a café is absolutely unjustified and prohibited, and in this way we will stop this and adequately sanction it if violations of the regulations continue. The cameras are being installed at stops that we have identified as the most common places where illegal stopping of vehicles and endangering traffic occur. We have situations where buses stop in the traffic lane because the stop is occupied, and then passengers get off the bus directly onto the roadway. There is a high possibility that passengers could be injured and that we could have fatal consequences, and we must not allow that,” stated Minister Katica.

The Police Commissioner of the Police Directorate of the MUP of Sarajevo Canton, Inspector General Fatmir Hajdarević, confirmed that the cameras will record every violation.

“All cameras being installed at public transport stops are connected to the Violation Processing System used in the MUP of Sarajevo Canton. The cameras will record every violation and there will be no tolerance for vehicles that do not belong to the category of city transport and emergency services,” stated Police Commissioner Hajdarević.

The Law on the Basics of Traffic Safety on Roads in BiH stipulates that a stop is a part of the road surface intended for stopping buses, trolleybuses, or trams for the boarding and alighting of passengers and is marked with a traffic sign. The same law stipulates that a driver must not stop or park a vehicle on a part of the roadway that is marked as a stop for public transport vehicles with a traffic sign and markings on the road surface.

For the aforementioned violations, a penalty provision is foreseen – a fine in the amount of 40 KM, and if the violation caused a traffic accident, the perpetrator of the violation will be fined between 50 and 200 KM, and if the perpetrator of the violation is a driver of a motor vehicle, they will be assigned 1 penalty point.

Locations where the cameras will be installed