Pune: In a first for the district, the Pune Rural Police have launched a pilot project using laser-based speed cameras to crack down on speeding and improve road safety. The six-month initiative began on Saturday in areas under the police stations in the Lonavala and Vadgaon Maval regions. The area falls under the Pune Rural Police Force.
Lonavala City, Lonavala Rural, Kamshet and Vadgaon Maval are the police stations in the area -- all covering the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and the Old Mumbai-Pune Highway.
According to Pune Rural Police, the project is being implemented in collaboration with the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP), which is working with police under the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS). As part of the initiative, three TruCam II laser speed cameras have been deployed on the Old Mumbai–Pune Highway and other key roads under the Pune Rural Police jurisdiction.
The cameras were formally handed over to Pune Rural Superintendent of Police Sandip Singh Gill by Paul Simcox, Senior Road Policing Advisor at GRSP.
Police officials said the new technology will help officers detect speeding violations more accurately and strengthen enforcement on accident-prone routes.
According to the Pune Rural Road Safety Report 2022–2023, a large number of fatal accidents in the district occur due to overspeeding. In 2023 alone, 983 people lost their lives in road accidents in the Pune Rural jurisdiction, marking a five per cent increase compared to the previous year. Motorcyclists and pedestrians accounted for a major share of these fatalities.
Speaking about the initiative, SP Gill said stricter enforcement is necessary, as speeding remains one of the biggest causes of fatal crashes in the region.
“Road accident deaths in Pune Rural are a serious concern. Through this pilot project, we aim to control speeding on major routes. Combined with awareness campaigns, such enforcement can help reduce accidents, injuries and fatalities,” he said.
The TruCam II cameras are capable of measuring vehicle speeds with high accuracy during both day and night. They can record speeds of vehicles travelling in either direction and can capture high-resolution images and videos that serve as evidence of violations.
The devices can also help identify other traffic violations, including failure to wear helmets or seatbelts and the use of mobile phones while driving.
Around 40 police personnel from Pune Rural were trained in the use of the cameras during specialised sessions conducted by GRSP in May 2025. Additional practical training was held in November 2025 and February 2026 for officers posted in Lonavala and Vadgaon-Mawal.
Officials said the pilot project will help authorities assess the effectiveness of laser speed enforcement and guide future road safety measures in the district.
