Officials hope their proposals to procure advanced gadgets will be cleared by the govt this year; promise better enforcement of road discipline
Violators of traffic rules are likely to see their wings clipped in the coming months. With several proposals on traffic management technology awaiting government's approval, the department hopes to go hi-tech by end of this year. In the backdrop of over 16,000 cases of drink driving in 2014, officials said modernisation is the need of the hour.
The department currently has 3,500 personnel and requires at least 1,600 more, considering the current traffic situation. "Fifty per cent of our manpower problems will be solved if we use superior technology," said B K Upadhyay, joint commissioner of police (traffic).
New-age breathalysers
The department recently sent a proposal to the government for 100 high-end breathalysers fitted with camera and GPS technology. These devices can not only measure alcohol consumption but also take pictures of the offenders and their vehicles, while keeping the record of the location. These new-age gadgets are capable of printing the data on the spot.
"We've used such advanced breathalysers devices in the past but they were used on an experimental basis and all of them have become defunct. This year, we hope to replace all the outdated breathalyser with the high-end ones," said Upadhyay.
Additional benefit: He also added the sophisticated device will also serve as scientific evidence in the court. "We will be taking a snapshot of the offender as soon as the test results turn positive and also record the spot via GPS. All the data including the photograph will be saved realtime in our records and can be used as foolproof evidence during trials," added Upadhyay. Currently, the department has around 70 outdated breathalysers.
Enforcement cameras
These cameras can replace CCTVs on roads as well as speed guns. Currently, there are about 30 speed guns being used in the city and last year, there were more than 3,000 cases of overspeeding and about 8,000 cases of rash driving.
"We require high-end speed guns, but what we need is enforcement cameras that can replace speed guns. These are high resolution cameras specifically meant to check traffic and are more advanced than the CCTVs. If we have 500 such cameras across all the busy junctions in the city, we can manage the traffic much better and also nab every offender. We recently requested the government to materialise it this year," said Upadhyay.
Additional benefit: These cameras which also come with an extra device to measure speed will be connected to the traffic control room. Videos and snapshots captured by these cameras can be used to fine offenders and send challan to their homes. "These cameras have supreme resolution. Be it speeding, jumping signal, lane cutting or any road offence, there will extra vigilance on the roads," said Pratap Dighavkar, deputy commissioner of police (traffic).
E-challan system
The department has been pushing for the e-challan system for past several years. Under the system, a hand-held device will enable offenders to pay fines by swiping debit or credit cards on the spot or online, help cops give printed challans, maintain a database of traffic violations and keep track of repeat offenders.
Additional benefit: This system promises to replace the traditional pen and paper practice. "We require 500 e-challan devices in the city and the proposal has been long pending. This should materialise in the next few months," said a senior traffic official.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}