Despite the improved vigil in the area of road safety through public awareness campaigns and intensified enforcement, police officers part of sectoral patrol under the Kozhikode City traffic unit are struggling to perform better in the absence of essential resources, including modern checking equipment.
Five out of the nine vehicles allotted for day-and-night patrol under 10 sectors between Elathur and Ramanattukara are old, forcing the officers to depend on motorcycle patrol.
Sources in the police said there were patrol vehicles that had crossed 6 lakh km in service. The lone interceptor vehicle, which is mostly used for road checking within city limits, is in a poor condition with faulty cameras and other accessories. As a result, accurate tracking of speed limit violations is reportedly impossible at present. The demand to replace the vehicle with a modern one with better radar and surveillance systems is yet to be taken up seriously by the authorities.
Two cranes earlier operated by the traffic police to remove illegally parked vehicles or those involved in accidents have remained off the road for several months. According to the police, the cranes are over 15 years old and cannot be repaired. They said the proposal to purchase new ones was pending with the authorities.
Despite standing instructions to intensify checking against drunk driving, the police personnel are yet to be provided with quality alcometers for accurate breath analysis. Most squad members carry outdated machines. Similar is the case with use of modern equipment to track violation of permitted light intensity. No lux metres are available with traffic squads for flawless enforcement.
Though tyre tread analysis is a standard practice in several foreign countries to keep hazardous vehicles off the road, no digital tyre depth gauge is available with the traffic wing to carry out scientific checking. The alleged negligence happens at a time when several private bus operators are suspected of violating safety standards.
Sources in the traffic enforcement unit said road safety funds were rarely used for improving the safety and standard of patrol vehicles. While the Motor Vehicles department got a fair allocation of funds for upgrading old vehicles or for purchasing electric vehicles every year, their counterparts in the Police department faced neglect for unknown reasons, they said.
“We have a committed team of officers to support traffic management, but the lack of modern facilities cripples their operations. What we need is timely approval of various development proposals,” said a senior traffic police officer. He added that modernisation of the existing enforcement systems would boost the morale of officers.
