Sidhima Choudhary, Pune
Speeding violations in Karnataka could lead to legal trouble starting August 1. The Karnataka police will register FIRs against commuters who drive rashly exceeding the speed limit of 130 kmph across the state. The law is to be implemented under the new enforcement strategy Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)-281.
Section 281 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita classifies a speed limit of 120 km/h to be rash or negligent driving, endangering human life. The Karnataka police will register FIRs against such commuters to secure road safety and discipline among road users to minimize mortal accidents often caused by rash driving. The violators will be either penalised with an amount of Rs 1000 or imprisoned for up to six months.
Additionally, Karnataka’s additional director general of Police, Alok Kumar addressed the crowd by explaining about the machines installed for the smooth operation of the law. He said “The speed laser guns have been installed all along the Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway. The laser guns will record the speed of the vehicle even at night.” He further talked about the Automatic Number Plate Recognition Cameras installed along the Bengaluru-Mysuru Highways which records the overspeeding vehicles with the speeds.
Subsequently, Alok Kumar talked about the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee on Road Safety, highlighting the increasing cases of accidents due to overspeeding in Karnataka. Over 155 commuters were caught speeding above 130 km/h on the Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway on July 25, itself.
Later, Kumar cited back at the recent accident near Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise on the NICE road, which led to the death of three people after being hit by a speeding vehicle at 160 km/h.
He further added that around 90 per cent of mortal accidents in Karnataka are attributed to over-speeding which the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee is making effective enforcement. Alok Kumar called the implementation and maintenance of the law to be ‘extremely challenging’ but expects to implement it, with all his efforts.
To detect overspeeding by commuters there are around 60 cameras installed on the Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway. The traffic and safety wing of Karnataka Police has installed 48 out of 60 ANPR cameras in six spots facing every direction whereas the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) installed video cameras in three different spots.