Minsk Traffic Police Use Drones To Covertly Detect Traffic Violations
Reform.news Editorial Team · 6 November 2026, 11:34
https://reform.news/en/minsk-traffic-police-use-drones-to-covertly-detect-traffic-violations/The traffic police in the Belarusian capital now rely not only on surveillance cameras, which can automatically record traffic violations, but also on drones for covert monitoring.
“Unmanned aerial vehicles are also being used to detect violations promptly and covertly and to ensure a timely response. The absence of a traffic police officer on the road does not mean that there is no monitoring,” Dzianis Livanovich, deputy head of the Traffic Police Department of the Minsk City Executive Committee’s Main Internal Affairs Directorate, told Minsk-Novosti.
The software used allows drones to identify a vehicle’s make and registration number, and then track the offending vehicle until it is stopped by police officers.
According to the report, a traffic police officer operating a drone is stationed at one location and monitors a specific section of road. Colleagues are positioned some distance away. They subsequently stop the driver and hold them accountable on the basis of footage recorded by the drone.
“Few drivers would risk driving through an intersection against a red light or committing another serious traffic violation when they see traffic police officers. The same applies to pedestrians, cyclists and users of personal mobility devices. The inspector is stationed away from the location where the alleged offence is committed. Meanwhile, a drone monitors the situation at the intersection from the air. If a violation is recorded, the drone operator relays the information by radio to a traffic police officer, who then stops the driver and takes further action. If a motorist believes they are being held administratively liable without justification, they are shown the video recording as evidence that the violation occurred,” said Aliaksandr Azhhirei, a senior traffic police inspector with the Moskovsky District Department of Internal Affairs.