15 new cams installed on elevated road to curb accidents, speeding

The new cameras are installed at the entry point of Sector 18 and exit 62. All loops of the elevated road are also covered by cameras

With a view to curb speeding and also the number of accidents, the Noida authority has installed 15 cameras, including automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) and surveillance cameras, at all entry and exit points of the six-lane elevated road linking Sector 18 to Sector 62, senior authority officials said on Tuesday, adding that the cameras will start working within a week, once they are integrated with the integrated safety and traffic management system (ISTMS).

Noida authority staff install the new cameras on elevated road. They will start working in a week, said traffic police. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

Noida authority officials said when the 4.8km long road was inaugurated in 2017, they had also put up cameras for surveillance and speed detection. But in May last year, these high-speed detecting cameras had to removed as the new fibre poles the authority put up could not support their weight.

Officials said the removal of cameras led to an increase in speeding violations and on August 6, eight cameras, including six speed monitoring and two surveillance cameras linked to ISTMS, were installed on the elevated road after HT reported the rise in instances of speeding.

Traffic police said since the eight speed cameras were only at one point on the elevated road, drivers would slow down when they see the cameras. “In order to avoid being flagged by the speed cameras, drivers would slow down within 50 metres of the cameras and continue to speed once they pass the cameras,” said a traffic constable, asking not to be named.

“The new cameras are installed at the entry point of Sector 18 and exit 62. All loops of the elevated road are also covered by cameras,” said Rajesh Kumar, deputy general manager (electrical department) of the Noida authority.

According to traffic police data, on June 11, 2023, two journalists on a motorbike were killed after a speeding pickup van rammed their bike from behind near Iskcon temple.

In another incident, a scooter rider lost his life on July 23, 2023, after being hit by a speeding car on elevated road.

In a third incident on August 2, 2023, a 25-year-old helmetless woman on a motorbike died on her birthday, while four others sustained grievous injuries after their bike crashed into a tyre, which was placed on the elevated road by the driver of a broken down truck to caution other motorists.

Since then, Noida traffic police have been urging authority to install cameras as sometimes they had to manually run a drive on an elevated road to curb speeding, and issue e-challans.

“The ANPR and surveillance cameras can make drivers slow down for fear of being fined, but the cameras should be installed around 50 metres before the entry and exit of the elevated road to prevent accidents. The majority of accidents take place at the entry/exit points,” said Anurag Kulshrestha, advisor to Gautam Budh Nagar’s road safety cell and president of TRAX, adding that Noida authority could also install transverse pavement marking (TVM) to alert drivers before entry/ exit points, and loops.