Mumbai: Revved by the success State Highway Police have had with interceptor vehicles on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Mumbai Traffic Police (MTP) are Iikely to consider getting one or two such vehicles for themselves. A senior traffic official said, since these are are equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, they help police book speeding motorists and issue e-challans to them.
Other equipment in these vehicles include laser speed guns, breathalysers and tint meters and as the vehicle is either stationary or moving along the black spots identified by police, it makes their task easier. An officer said, “Interceptor vehicles do not have to stop speeding motorists, with officers getting into an argument with them. Instead, they help prosecute the violator with minimum human interference. The laser speed guns automatically detect speeding, identify the errant vehicles and dispatch e-challans. The algorithm in the new speed guns calculates speed limits for small and large vehicles and records an offence using automatic number plate recognition.”
The state highway police had rolled out these interceptor vehicles on November 18, and within 10 days, over 1,200 e-challans had been issued for speeding and other traffic violations. The MTP, who have used every trick in the book to bring down the number of accidents in the city, could station one of these vehicles on the Western Express Highway (WEH) or Eastern Express Highway (EEH), where the most number of accidents and speeding violations are recorded.
In addition to the existing network of 5,500 CCTV cameras installed in the city, this interceptor vehicle could act as a successful deterrent to the traffic violators, who refuse to change their ways despite repeated reminders and wake-up calls, an officer said.
From November 18, new speed limits were imposed on state highways and key connecting roads until further notice. The notification, issued on October 25, stated that a review of road accidents in Maharashtra revealed that 30% fatal accidents occurred due to speeding. The speed limit for vehicles (carrying not more than eight passengers) within the city has been kept at 60 km/hr on plain terrain and 40 km/hr on hilly roads, while those of passenger vehicles (carrying more than eight people) are 50 km/hr and 30 km/hr respectively. For two-wheelers, the speed limit is at a revised 50 km/hr on plain terrain and 40 km/hr on hilly roads, while for goods vehicles it is 40 km/hr and 30 km/hr respectively.
