Speed guns to check Delhi’s rash drivers at night

NEW DELHI - Soon people will have to think twice before speeding on Delhi roads at night. Delhi Traffic Police are set to procure radar-based speed guns at a cost of Rs.5.25 crore (Rs.52.5 million) that will check speedsters after dark.

“We are in the process of procuring radar-based speed guns, which will be the latest in technology and would be able to operate at night as well. This will strengthen our already existing fleet of speed gun-mounted interceptor cars,” Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Ajay Chadha told IANS.

“We have given out an expression of interest for the new radar-based guns. After we receive the gun, the technical committee will look into the specifications and a tender will be floated. It may take around six months’ time,” he said.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Mullappally Ramachandran had earlier told the Lok Sabha that “an amount of Rs.525 lakh (Rs.52.5 mn) has been earmarked for the procurement of compact modular speed measurement devices”.

The radar-based guns would be an upgrade to the existing 11 speed guns mounted on interceptor vehicles, which are camera-based and ineffective in the dark as they can’t take pictures at night.

“The new technology will allow us to take digital pictures even at night and the technology will be able to track more than one lane at a given time,” he added.

The compact modular speed measurement device or the radar-based speed gun has a small Doppler radar inside that tracks multiple vehicles at any given time with far better accuracy than the present mounted or hand-held devices.

The national capital witnesses many road accidents at night due to the tendency to speed up after dark. Traffic police officials say the new technology promises to curb speeding and resultant accidents.