manoj

When it comes, it’ll be a godsend! The dream of driving on the Capital’s roads minus travel travails may come true well before the 2010 Commonwealth Games, if all goes as per traffic police script.

The idea may be inspired by London’s Tom Tom, but it promises to do Delhi a whole world of good. Delhi Traffic Police’s driver navigation system will provide motorists with ‘‘easy information on the shortest and most convenient route to a particular destination and estimated travel time simply by punching in the origin and destination details’’.

The road network information will be accessed by simple Global Positioning System (GPS)-enabled gadgets fitted into vehicles. The gadgets, which cost around Rs 5,500 a piece, are like simple LCD touch screens and can be fitted into all types of vehicles. They are configured to a satellite network.

Traffic officials explain that this system tracks the latitudinal and longitudinal position of a person or vehicle. Gadgets fitted on ground use three satellites to ascertain the location of a vehicle on Earth. It is then compared to the destination punched in and various route options, pre-fed into the system on updated maps, and the simplest route option is offered.

‘‘We are trying to incorporate public transport systems which may be options. The possibility of fitting a voice relay mechanism, for giving turn-by-turn directions about the route, is also being looked into,’’ said a senior officer.

Kiosks are being planned at public places (like airport and railway stations) where incoming tourists can get information about routes and a combination of different modes of transport. Estimated travel time and cost will also be displayed. Commuters can even take map printouts with the help of printers at these kiosks.

Traffic police has accessed detailed digital maps of the city and these are being fed into the system. ‘‘Once the map database is ready, getting linked to satellites is easy and relatively inexpensive. The devices and are available all over the world. All one has to do is to alter them to suit our needs. The facility is scheduled to be ready in two years,’’ said a senior traffic officer.

Besides managing traffic, the system would also help curb crime. Since vehicle movement will be under constant vigil, cases of hit-andrun and rapes in moving vehicles are likely to come down considerably, the traffic police officer added.


Source: http://epaper.timesofindia.com (Delhi Edition)
Date Of Publish: 19-Apr-07

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