Gondolas in Venice are to get GPS tracking systems, registration plates and reflective patches as part of a series of measures introduced in a bid to increase safety on the city’s canals.
The safety measures will come into effect from 4 November 2013. They form part of the city council’s 26-point plan intended to reduce congestion and collisions. The plan includes stricter rules on overtaking, as well as alcohol and drug tests for boat handlers.
The introduction of reflection patches ends the centuries old black colour scheme adopted by gondolas. However, the patches are reported to be small in size and similar to those used on bicycles.
The registration plates will help CCTV operators monitor gondolas and determine if they are breaking traffic regulations. The GPS trackers will help monitor traffic flow.
The move comes after a 50-year-old German tourist, Joachim Vogel, died in an accident on the Grand Canal in August 2013, when a gondola he was travelling on was in a collision with a vaporetto waterbus near the Rialto Bridge.
