430 advanced CCTV cameras will be installed at 106 locations along the e-way by mid-October.

The Mumbai-Pune Expressway is monitored closely around the clock for traffic violations. Now, with upgraded systems in place, it's going to get really difficult to speed on the access-controlled e-way.

The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) is installing 430 advanced CCTV cameras at 106 locations along the route by mid-October.

Sanjay Yadav, the joint MD of MSRDC, revealed that all cameras will be interconnected through an optical fibre network to a central control room. An Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) will document various traffic violations, such as excessive speeding, reckless driving, wrong-way driving, motorway stops, lane changes, and driving in the wrong lane, among others.

The system will also feature a spot and average speed detection system at 39 locations and a lane discipline violation detection system at 34 locations. 130 spots on the e-way will be equipped with wrong-way entry detection, while variable messaging signs and weather monitoring systems will be installed at 23 locations and 11 locations, respectively.

The system will also keep an eye on commercial vehicles. There will be weigh-in-motion systems at all entry points. An automatic vehicle counter and classifier will be installed at toll booths, along with automatic number plate recognition and violation detection cameras for penalty collection.

Mobile surveillance vans and emergency vehicles like towing vans, ambulances and cranes will be equipped with displays, cameras and a vehicle tracking system.

A command and control centre located at Lonavala will receive the feed from all the cameras. Officials will also be able to access the feed online. Violation challans will be generated immediately and validated by officials with photo and video evidence.

Source: Mid-day

The New York DEP stated that it has been running a pilot program since September 2021.

According to a media report, speed cameras in New York, USA now come paired with microphones to ticket cars with loud exhausts. Owners of such cars will receive a notice from the city's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

The notice from the DEP also mentions that owners of loud cars will have to bring their vehicles to a specified location. Here, similar to California's 'Fix-it' system, the owners will be given the opportunity to have their car fixed & avoid paying the fine. Owners failing to bring their cars could face a maximum fine of up to US$ 875, plus additional fines if found to be continuously ignoring the summons.

Reports suggest that the new system uses a strategically placed sound meter to record the decibel level and match it to the right licence plate using a camera. The New York DEP stated that it has been running a pilot program since September 2021. The program will continue to run till June 2022, after which it will be re-evaluated where it will either be expanded or taken out of commission.

Source: RoadAndTrack

The Maharashtra Highway Police will be procuring new cameras over the next 90 days or so to catch speeding vehicles. These cameras are a lot more advanced compared to the existing ones. They are claimed to be able to monitor 32 vehicles in two or three lanes at a time.

The new machines are called Radar Speed Machines (RSM). The authorities have started the tender process for the purchase of 155 RSMs, which are made in Bengaluru and Delhi. The machines will be installed atop the highway police vehicles.  The Government of Maharashtra has sanctioned Rs. 13.95 crore for the same. The highway police will be allotted money from the Road Safety Fund.

The police believe that the RSMs will reduce the number accidents and accidental deaths, particularly in rural areas. Maharashtra recorded 20,045 accidents and 8,175 deaths on its roads in 2019. These accidents were caused due to drivers cutting lanes, over speeding and overtaking dangerously. RSMs can capture a photograph, speed and registration number of a vehicle. These can be used as evidence.

At present, the police are using laser machines to catch speeding vehicles. These machines can capture only a single vehicle at a time. Due to this, any driver who is caught argues that others have been speeding as well and not stopped.

Note: Image used for representation purpose only.

Source

Since last month, Google has started rolling out speed limit and speed camera information on Google Maps. The features were reportedly introduced in the UK, US, Australia, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Canada and Indonesia initially. User reports suggest that the speed camera feature is now available in India as well.

The updated Google Maps app now has an option for users to report a speed camera. Once reported, an icon appears on the map, which is visible to those following the same route. The speed camera notification is shown in blue with the number of people who reported it. The feature is designed to warn commuters of speed cameras along the route and could be used to dodge traffic fines. 

The speed camera features is currently not available on iOS devices but could be rolled out soon.

Users can also report an accident, which is then displayed in red along with time required to cross that section of road.