Overspeeding, lane cutting to be caught on camera on the Mumbai-Pune expressway
Image: Team BHP
In a bid to effectively monitor and curb road accidents, Transport Minister Diwakar Raote announced the decision to fit cameras atop state transport department vehicles to capture images of those flouting traffic rules and penalize them.
The idea of using cameras on patrolling cars, which has only been used for crowd monitoring during festivals and rallies till now, will be extended to the accident-prone Mumbai-Pune expressway in the first phase.
A similar initiative on a trial run was first carried out by the Deputy Regional Transport Officer of Pimpri, wherein cameras were installed on 5 patrolling vehicles.
The Pimpri drive resulted in a collection of almost Rs 40 lakh in fines. Apart from the collection, it also resulted a temporary suspension of 1,533 licenses. Over a thousand others were sent for counselling.
Since lane cutting and overspeeding are the most common traffic violations, the patrolling cars will primarily try to record such incidents. The minister hopes that once the motorists are aware or caught, it will dissuade them from flouting rules again.
The plan includes sending notices to those who were found flouting traffic rules. The vehicle owner will then have 7 days to respond or face further action.
Mumbai-Pune expressway witnesses a very high number of fatalities, with over 1000 accidents reported each year. Earlier this month, a bus accident resulted in the death of 17 towards the Mumbai-end of the expressway.
