The City of Manila’s No Contact Apprehension (NCAP) program has been quite successful in terms of instilling discipline in its motorists. It is still far from perfect, but after only 9 months since its inception, the Nation’s Capital has already seen a 25% to 31% decrease in traffic violation citations during the first half of 2021, on a month-to-month basis.
This only shows that when traffic laws are given teeth, it will definitely bite those who violate them. Manila’s neighbor Quezon City, is thinking of following suit, the city council is making its own ordinance to implement its own similar NCAP. According to sources familiar with the ordinance, it is currently on its second reading.
The aim is not only to monitor the QC’s thoroughfares but also to minimize traffic enforcer-traffic violator contact on the street level because of the ongoing pandemic.
Though there is no information yet as to where these CCTVs will be placed in the event that an NCAP is enacted by QC, it says that the system will monitor 15 different major thoroughfares throughout the city. That could mean areas like Quezon Avenue, Commonwealth, and Araneta Avenue, to name a few.
Like Manila, QC’s NCAP will summon traffic violators via the address linked to the vehicle or motorcycle’s registration. If your address listed on the vehicle's registration is different from where you actually live, your traffic violation will remain and would need to be settled first on your next renewal of registration. If that's the case, expect that the fine(s) may be higher because it wasn't settled immediately.
Is this the future of traffic enforcement in the country? Maybe it is.
