Authorities have strengthened the non-contact apprehension policy against erring motorists by coming up with a digital information sharing database that is also seen to facilitate settlement of fines for traffic violations.

This, after the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) signed on Wednesday, June 29, a Memorandum of Agreement interconnecting their data systems for quicker sharing of information on motorists and vehicles involved in traffic violations and apprehensions.

MMDA Chairman Romando Artes said the data-sharing accord will bolster the two agencies’ law enforcement and traffic apprehension functions via more active and timely data-sharing and will help boost road safety by swiftly identifying and weeding out drivers and vehicles involved in multiple violations and traffic incidents.

"This will make the MMDA’s traffic enforcement and apprehension systems more efficient, with real-time access to pertinent LTO records within the LTMS (Land Transport Management System)," said Artes,

The MOA signed by S. Artes and LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Edgar C. Galvante.

The LTMS is the LTO’s own data repository and services backbone that is online and client-based, allowing access to stakeholders 24/7.

Aside from driver’s licenses, vehicle registrations, and vehicle safety inspection records, the LTMS is now interconnected to allied parties like vehicle sellers, insurance companies and government agencies like the Government Service Insurance System and Bureau of Customs.

“This will allow the MMDA to more swiftly determine the ownership and address of vehicle owners caught by its non-contact apprehension system (NCAP), so the parties involved can be informed and their violations settled,” Artes said.

The MMDA NCAP is a policy that utilizes CCTV, digital cameras and/or other gadget or technology to capture videos and images to apprehend vehicles violating traffic rules and regulations.

Artes said the new partnership will also enhance the non-contact apprehension systemthru an email/text message notification: "This will serve as advance notification to the traffic violators but they will still be receiving a printed copy of the notice for the complete details of the apprehension."

The MMDA has committed to furnish the LTO with this data starting from 2016. It will also be furnishing the LTO with new records of these violations, apprehensions and alarms on a daily basis.

Galvente, for his part, said the LTO will be speedily furnished with the MMDA’s data on traffic apprehensions, violations, and vehicle alarms which will be logged onto the records of drivers and vehicles enrolled in the LTMS.

“With this agreement, we can quickly pinpoint drivers committing multiple traffic violations resulting in the suspension of their licenses and their mandatory training on road safety and traffic rules. Drivers with violations will also be prevented from receiving the new ten-year licenses that are now being granted by the LTO,” Galvante said for his part.