30 speed radars installed on 20 arterial stretches
GURUGRAM: The traffic police have installed 30 speed radar signs at nearly 20 locations in Gurugram to deter high-speed driving and prevent accidents, said the officials on Monday.
A speed radar sign displays the speed at which a vehicle is approaching on a light-emitting diode (LED) screen.
The traffic calming device has been installed at key locations and stretches in the city such as Golf Course Road, Cyber City, Signature Towers, Netaji Subhash Marg, Vikas Marg, Hamilton Court Road, and MehrauliGurgaon Road, said the officials.
“The speed signs have been installed to help drivers realise when they are speeding, so that they reduce the speed of the vehicle. In addition, speed limit signs are installed a few metres before and after the radar speed signs, to make drivers wary of speed limits,” said Ravinder Singh Tomar, Gurugram deputy commissioner of police (DCP).
He said that this also makes many drivers reduce the speed of their vehicles fearing they would be penalised by the traffic police for speeding. At present, the traffic police have seven-speed interceptors — two along Golf Course Road, two along Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, one along GurgaonFaridabad Road, and one each at two stretches of the city where high-speed driving is being observed, said Tomar, adding, “In the first phase, these devices have been installed primarily for awareness purposes. In the second phase, we will fine people for violating traffic rules including speeding at these 20 points, with the assistance of CCTV cameras installed by the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA).”
Tomar also said that the traffic police installed these devices over the past two weeks, with the assistance of a German sanitary fittings manufacturer, under the corporate social responsibility (CSR) venture. A radar speed sign emits radio waves, and the time taken for the wave to reach an approaching vehicle and for it to reflect back to the sign helps in calculating the distance between the vehicle and the signage. This process of emitting radio waves is repeated. The difference between the distance of the first reading against the latest reading helps in ascertaining the speed of an approaching vehicle, said the traffic police officials, adding that “a radar speed sign costs ₹3 lakh”.
“Radar speed signs across the world have shown a positive impact in reducing accidents. It subconsciously or consciously makes a driver slow down the vehicle. The traffic police can also consider placing speed interceptors at these 20 points until the GMDA installs CCTV cameras there,” said Sewa Ram, an urban transport systems design expert and a faculty member at School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), Delhi.