manoj

Get ready to shell out more if you are caught speeding by the speed gun.

Mumbai Police has put up a proposal to the state government, seeking a hike in the penalty for breaking speed limits. The present penalty of Rs 200 is not acting as a deterrent strong enough to tame speed demons on the road, say officials.

The department has installed 28 speed guns all over the city, spending more than Rs 76 lakh in the process; the cost of the guns may vary from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 25 lakh. It has earned a little more than Rs 30 lakh by way of fines for speeding till date this year.

“Obviously, a speed gun should not be judged only on the basis of a cost-earning ratio,’’ a senior police official said. “It serves a much more important purpose — of penalising speed limit-breakers and saving lives — than all the revenue it helps us earn,’’ he added.

“But, all the same, we cannot ignore the rising number of people being caught breaking speed limits. A message needs to go out that speeding and rash driving cannot be condoned,’’ the official said. “We have, therefore, written to the state government to increase the penalty to Rs 500 so that it will prove a deterrent to habitual traffic offenders,’’ joint commissioner (traffic) Satish Mathur told TOI. The traffic police now has 26 speed guns at its disposal, besides two guns that can video-record the cars that are speeding.

The camera-equipped guns can also take print-outs that record the details of a speeding car. “These speed guns are doing a fabulous job. But, if we need to buy more such guns, we also need to justify the cost,’’ a senior police official said.

The areas where the maximum number of speeding cases occur have been found to be Worli, Marine Drive, Carter Road and Western Express Highway. The traffic police have posted vans, carrying the speed guns, at these busy roads. “We get the maximum number of cases from here as these cameras can record two violations per second at a distance of up to 600 metres,’’ a senior traffic official said.

The manual speed guns are a little less effective as they need to be pointed towards the vehicle so that its speed can be recorded. “It also depends on the alertness of the policeman who has to spot a speeding vehicle and then aim his gun at the vehicle,’’ the traffic official added.

The speed limit in the city is 40 kilometres per hour but, on flyovers (like J J), it is kept at 30 kilometres per hour. The jurisdiction of the traffic wing of Mumbai Police ends at Dahisar on the west and Vashi on the east.

THREE TYPES OF GUNS

The traffic wing uses three types of speed guns:

• Guns without a videorecording facility
• Laser guns
• Infra-red guns

THE COST

A speed gun may cost anything between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 25 lakh; most are German imports

ITS RANGE

The range varies between 200 metres and 600 metres

ITS UTILITY FOR COPS

The penalty for over-speeding under Sections 112 and 134 of Motor Vehicles Act is Rs 200; this year (till 30 November), cops have registered 15,800 cases of overspeeding

NUMBER IN USE

28 speed guns are employed by the traffic wing

WHAT COPS HAVE

Speed gun: 0 Breath-analyser: 1 Motorcycles: 15 Traffic personnel: 177

Source: http://epaper.timesofindia.com (Mumbai Edition)
Date Of Publish: 04-Oct-06

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Nothing is fool-proof to a talented fool.

manoj

Navi Mumbai: The traffic police in India’s largest planned city is desperately seeking laser speed-check guns, along with breath-analysers, to curb the growing number of accidents on its roads. Last week, as Navi Mumbai police commissioner Ramrao Wagh inaugurated the 25 new traffic police booths for various busy crossroads, he also told mediapersons about what else was needed there.

“Our traffic department needs speed guns to keep a check on motorists who break speed limits and drive rashly,’’ Wagh said. The 25 new traffic booths have been given free by some advertising agencies in lieu of free advertising space on the booths but the police is still waiting for a sponsor to get speed guns and breath-analysers.

Assistant commissioner of police (traffic) Nandkumar Chaugule said, “We have 177 personnel in the traffic division but not a single speed gun. We do have one breath-analyser but it is not enough and is also not functioning properly.

’’Chaugule said a good laser gun could easily cost close to Rs 2.5 lakh. “The accident rate is steadily climbing on Navi Mumbai roads that have a floating vehicle population of around 50,000 daily,’’ he said, adding that rash driving and drunken driving headed the list of factors behind “mistakes’’.

A lot of blood has already been spilled on Navi Mumbai roads; 255 people have died this year till October. Two-wheeler riders, too, apparently could not care less; 30 to 40 of them are caught daily and fined Rs 100 each for not wearing helmets.

The speed limit along the 9-km Palm Beach Road is 60 kilometres per hour and, on flyovers, it is not more than 40 kilometres per hour. But motorists often zip past at 90 kilometres an hour on these stretches, leading to mishaps, say officials.

An official from the crime branch added: “A lot of youngsters are driving late in the night after consuming alcohol, which is not only dangerous to themselves but to others.”

Blood On the Street

Fatal mishaps have been increased in Navi Mumbai over the years

Year................Fatalities
2001................229
2002................225
2003................289
2004................364
2005................343
2006................255 (Till October)

Source: http://epaper.timesofindia.com (Mumbai Edition)
Date Of Publish: 04-Oct-06

__________________
Nothing is fool-proof to a talented fool.