Despite the order to check speed limit of vehicles, Commissioner of Police (CP), Dimapur Rothihu Tetso said that they were yet to procure equipment to monitor speed limits.
In most States, the Traffic police personnel use devices like speed gun or radar to measure the speed of moving vehicles.
Talking to Nagaland Post, Tetso admitted that as of now the State did not have such machineries/equipment to check the speed limit but would be introduced soon. In the event of any accident that takes place, he said speed would be detected manually.
The CP recently notified speed limit, which has been fixed at 40 km per hour in Dimapur town area up to Chümoukedima for a period of one month with effect from January 5 to February 3. He explained that the reason for notifying speed limit was to create awareness so that the drivers are careful while driving and ensure that everyone was safe – the drivers, passengers and pedestrians. He said such measures might be inconvenient but it was in the interest of safety of the public in general.
“The priority is safety first and obey the rules,” he stressed. On installation of CCTV cameras to monitor traffic movement, Tetso said a huge amount of money was required for the purpose. “As CCTV cameras will monitor movement of vehicles and help in investigation of accidents, besides identifying suspected criminals, we will need high-resolution CCTV cameras,” he emphasised. Pointing out that road construction was not yet complete, he said installation of CCTV was the responsibility of national highway authorities.
Meanwhile, 30 to 40 vehicles had been seized and penalised for wrong lane driving on the highway. The CP pointed that out traffic rules were for public safety and therefore everyone needed to drive carefully, mindful of others on the road around them. Meanwhile, Tetso said Dimapur recorded no fatality in road mishap during the just-concluded festive season.