Over speeding on the Pune-Mumbai expressway has resulted in the deaths of many using the highway to commute between Pune and Mumbai. The good condition of the expressway excites commuters to over speed, but they tend to forget that the same speed can be life-threatening in case of an accident.

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The highway police have been unable to deal with the problem, as they do not have adequate infrastructure to check speeding vehicles. All they have are a few speed guns to take action against speeding drivers.

Since the time it opened to public in 2000, the Pune-Mumbai expressway has provided the commuters with a faster route between the two major cities. However, the same highway has claimed the lives of several people due to speeding accidents.

Although the maximum speed limit on the expressway is 80 km/ph, according to the highway police, hardly any driver adheres to the speed limit. In most of the cases, over speeding is the main cause for accidents.

A survey by the Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT) on the accidents on the expressway had revealed that vehicles suffered tyre bursts due to over speeding.

Nowadays, hi-end vehicles ply at a speed of 120 km/ph on the expressway, but the police do not have the modern equipment to tackle the issue of over speeding on the expressway.

The highway police are equipped with only three speed guns between Khandala and Wadgaon control rooms. Apart from that, the police have four more speed guns between Borghat and the last point of the expressway.

These speed guns are manually operated, and the police have to carry out special drives to take action against over-speeding drivers.

Superintendent of police (highway), Dilip Bhujbal, said, “We have a total of seven speed guns which are used during the special drive. We measure the speed of a vehicle with the help of speed guns, but we cannot stop those vehicles. Our staff is able to take action only when the vehicle stops at the toll naka. However, it is not sufficient to check over speeding on the expressway.”

“Some drivers who drive at a very high speed have a control over their vehicles. But not all drivers have such control. On top of that if a vehicle suffers a tyre burst, it becomes very difficult for the driver to keep the vehicle on track,” Bhujbal said.

The highway police have requested the state government to provide them with modern speed guns and CCTV cameras so that they can keep a watch on over-speeding vehicles on the expressway.

Bhujbal said, “The traffic engineering team will carry out a survey of the expressway to find out the spots where CCTV cameras can be installed. Along with CCTV cameras, radar speed guns will also be installed on the expressway. These guns will record the information of over-speeding vehicles. It will also help us take action against such vehicles.”