Install electronic devices to curb traffic offences: Road Ministry

In a move to curb corruption and bad behaviour by any of the stakeholders in case of skirmishes between a law enforcer and a road user and to increase road safety, the Road Transport and Highways Ministry has published draft rules for electronic devices to be used by traffic rule enforcement officers.

The electronic devices can be speed camera, closed-circuit television camera, speed gun, body wearable camera, dashboard camera, Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) bridges or any other technology. Also, the devices have to be certified every year, to ensure their accuracy, as per the draft notification.

Moreover, the officials must notify to the offender that he is being recorded by the camera. Also, the notification asks State governments to put warning signs before the stretches monitored by electronic enforcement devices, notifying the public that such devices are in use.

Draft notification

“Body wearable cameras shall be explicitly used by the law enforcement officers, such as police and transport officials while managing the traffic or carrying out any enforcement drive which can be used in the court as an evidence against the offending driver or person and also ensure that the law enforcement official has acted as per the provisions of law while penalising the offending driver or person. Both the video and audio functions of the body camera shall be activated only when the law enforcement official is on duty and the official must notify the subjects that they are being recorded by the body camera,” the Road Ministry has said in its draft notification.

Accuracy certificate

State governments shall ensure that appropriate electronic enforcement devices are placed at high-risk and high-density corridors on National and State Highways, and at critical junctions in State capitals and cities with more than 1 million population, added the notification.

The electronic enforcement device used for issuance of a challan shall have an approval certificate signed by a police officer or designated authority certifying that the device is accurate, said the draft adding the approval certificate must be renewed on a yearly basis.

The electronic record collected by way of electronic monitoring should be stored for a minimum period of 30 days, and in the case where the electronic record relates to an offence, should be stored till the conclusion of proceedings initiated, including appeals.