"Phantoms" return to the roads: Kyiv and the region are the first

On August 31, the so-called "phantom patrols" – police cars with automatic traffic violation enforcement systems – returned to the roads of Ukraine after a long break. At the first stage, three such vehicles are operating in Kyiv and the Kyiv region; further expansion of their number and geography is planned.

This was announced by the Head of the Patrol Police Department, Oleksii Biloshytskyi.

"Phantoms" are specially equipped police cars that are almost indistinguishable from ordinary vehicles in appearance. The systems installed inside them allow for automatic speed measurement of other vehicles and recording of violations without mandatory stop of the driver.

How "Phantoms" work

The system can determine the speed of cars both while the patrol car is moving and when it is stationary. Monitoring is carried out simultaneously in both directions – with and against the flow.

After detecting speeding, the system reads the license plate of the vehicle and checks it against the relevant databases. The information is transmitted to the automatic enforcement system, after which a report on an administrative offense is generated.

Thus, in most cases, the driver will not be stopped for speeding.

At the same time, the vehicles are equipped with two video cameras for recording violations in a non-automatic mode – in front and behind the "Phantom". If officers notice a serious violation, such as creating an emergency situation, they can stop the car and consider the case on the spot.

Kyiv first, then other regions

At the first stage, three "Phantoms" were involved in patrolling. All of them have been operating in Kyiv and the Kyiv region since August 31.

The Patrol Police stated that such vehicles will be used in other regions later. The number of "Phantoms" is also planned to be gradually increased, but specific timelines and the number of additional vehicles have not been announced yet.

"Phantoms" first appeared on Ukrainian roads in January 2022. Before the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, theymanaged to work for about a month. During that time, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the police held more than 26,000 drivers accountable for speeding.

Number of stationary cameras also increased

In parallel, the Ministry of Internal Affairs expanded the network of stationary automatic traffic enforcement cameras. Since August 20, 50 more cameras have been operating on Ukrainian roads, bringing the total to 426.

New complexes were installed in Rivne, Zhytomyr, Smila, Chernivtsi, Mykolaiv, and Stryi, as well as on roads in Kyiv, Rivne, Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad, Volyn, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zakarpattia, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Ternopil, and Cherkasy regions.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs attributes the return of "Phantoms" and the increase in the number of cameras to the need to reduce accidents on Ukrainian roads. Separately, the ministry is preparing legislative changes to strengthen drivers' liability for systematic speeding and other repeated traffic violations.

Based on materials: Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Oleksii Biloshytskyi