Delhi: Police launch 11 new interceptor vans to check speeding vehicles

New Delhi: To rein in the menace of overspeeding in the national capital, Delhi Traffic Police on Wednesday launched eleven new interceptor vans which can track speeding vehicles through laser-based cameras not just during the day but also in the night. With these interceptors which can also operate in the night unlike its predecessors, the police hope to double the number of challans in the national capital and also bring down road fatalities. As many as 1.2 lakh challans have been issued for overspeeding this year so far. [caption id=“attachment_1854229” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Flagging off these interceptors at the India Gate lawns, Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi expressed confidence that the new system will make the city roads safer. The laser-based cameras fitted in these vehicles can generate a challan per two seconds and identify a speeding vehicle in a lane full of cars. They can work in all light conditions and produce a photograph of the speeding vehicle’s registration number plate with its GPS coordinates, time and place. A police team which will be deployed 200 metres ahead of the interceptor will get the picture and the erring vehicle will be stopped and challaned. If the driver manages to escape, the challan will be dispatched to the vehicle owner’s residence. Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Anil Shukla said a number of people indulge in overspeeding and rash driving especially during nights when the routes are deserted. Overspeeding is a big reason for road accidents whether it is bikes, cars or any bigger vehicle. Till now, we had 10 interceptors which work only during the day while overspeeding is an issue which increases in evening and night, he said. Explaining the new system and the need for it, he said, “The specialty of it is that it is a laser-based system which can work day and night. It will instantly identify the speeding vehicle even among 10 vehicles and provide its photograph which can even be produced as evidence in the court. The GPS coordinates, date and the place where the challan was issued will be mentioned in it.” “We have issued 1.2 lakh challans this year for overspeeding and with the new system this is expected to double as we would now be able to challan in the night as well. We have chosen some high-speed corridors where we would deploy them and control the menace of overspeeding corridors,” Shukla said. I am sure that we would be able to send this message to people that if you overspeed, you would be caught, he added. PTI