29 August,2020 07:45 AM IST | Mumbai | Vishal Singh
Radar Speed Machines will be installed on highway police vehicles. representation pic
Motorists speeding highways won't get away easily anymore, as the Maharashtra Highway Police is soon going to get high-tech cameras that can monitor over 30 vehicles at a time, way more than what the existing technology can record.
The department has initiated the process to procure Radar Speed Machines (RSM), which will replace the laser machines that can capture only one vehicle at a time. Officers told mid-day that they have started the tender process for the purchase of 155 RSMs, which are expected to arrive within one and a half months.
The state government had a week back approved a budget of R13.95 crore for the purchase of the machines that are made in Delhi and Bengaluru, and the Highway police will be allotted money from the Road Safety Fund. The department plans to use these machines to keep an eye on unruly drivers and to prevent accidents on state and national highways. The machines, which will be installed atop the highway police vehicles, can monitor 32 vehicles on two-three lanes simultaneously.
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A laser squad records only one vehicle in a single lane, which is often a disadvantage for the police. Officers said sometimes when police pull up a motorist, he argues that others were speeding too, then why is he alone being fined. That is where the RSM would come to our advantage, they added.
The machines would also help cut down accidental deaths, which have been on the rise in rural areas due to many factors, including overtaking, lane cutting and speeding, said Vijay Patil, superintendent of police (headquarters), Highway Police. The RSM can easily capture a vehicle's photo, speed and registration plate, which can be used as evidence. In 2019, 20,045 accidents were recorded on the state roads and 8,175 people died.
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