Noida: E-challans issued to 576 drivers caught speeding on elevated road

In a bid to curb accidents caused by speeding on the 4.8km six-lane elevated road from Vishwa Bharti Public School in Sector 28 to Sector 61, traffic police have started issuing e-challans to violators on daily basis. Four accidents have taken place due to speeding vehicles on the elevated road since it became operational in June end this year.

The challans are being sent to those who drive their seven-seater vehicles at more than 100kilometres per hour (kmph) and nine-seater and above including trucks and buses at a speed of over 80kmph. In the last two weeks of November alone, 576 people were found driving their cars at a speed of over 100kmph. In the first week of December, as many as 175 commuters were spotted exceeding the prescribed limit.

Superintendent of police (traffic) AK Jha said, “With the help of four CCTV cameras equipped with automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) on the elevated road, we are able to check speeding. The cameras remained on trial run from November 1 to 15.”

The overhead corridor on the Master Plan-2 road was opened to public in June to reduce vehicular congestion.

The authorities set speed limits of 40kmph for heavy transport vehicles and 50kmph for medium motor vehicles, respectively.

However, the prescribed limit was not being followed by the drivers and majority of motorists drive vehicles beyond the permissible limit. A traffic police officier said that speeding of vehicles caused many accidents and the issue had to be take into consideration.

Jha said during trial phase, they discovered that 40 kmph and 50kmph limits were impractical. He said that this speed limit can never be followed as it is a route without any traffic signal or intersection.

“We in our capacity could not fix a speed limit. After research, we found an order of union ministry of transport issued in 2014. The order says vehicles having capacity up to seven persons can drive up to 100kmph and above nine seats, they can restrict it up to 80kmph,” said SP traffic.

To check daily operations of the cameras, traffic police have made a separate control room in its office at Sector 14-A, where the data is collected by a team of traffic officials and dispatched to the errant driver.

To streamline traffic in Noida, the state government appointed panel of three ministers on December 4 directed the Noida officials to prepare an action plan to address traffic related issues by December 18.

Industries minister Satish Mahana, urban housing minister Suresh Khanna and state minister (independent charge) of cane development and sugar mills Suresh Rana are the members of the committee who have asked the Noida authority and traffic police to come up with an action plan.

Accidents due to speeding on elevated road

October 23: A Maruti SX4 on way to Delhi toppled on the road and the driver received injuries

September 28: A Ford EcoSport overturned near National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) office in Sector 24 on Thursday afternoon. Two occupants of the car — a man and a woman in their early 20s — sustained injuries

July 5: A 35-year-old man was injured after he rammed his Fortuner into a dumper (truck) from the rear. The sport utility vehicle was on way from Sector 28 to Sector 60

July 4: Two youngsters on a motorcycle suffered serious injuries after their mobike hit a car