Two midnight crashes, four deaths in Ernakulam: MVD, police call for more speed cameras, night patrols

Two fatal accidents this month in Ernakulam district, in which four people died after luxury cars driven by teenagers rammed their two-wheelers from behind, shed light on the need for the Motor Vehicles department (MVD) and the police to augment CCTV coverage and step up real-time monitoring on roads where driving in excess of the speed limit has become common.

Particularly so, since the luxury vehicle involved in the Nedumbassery accident was said to have been driven at over 140 kmph along the airport road, while the vehicle involved in the accident on Container Road in Cheranalloor was travelling at 104 kmph. Citing the urgent need for an adequate number of speed-detection cameras across the district, officials of the MVD and the police said there was also a need to deploy many more patrol teams, especially since both fatal accidents occurred at midnight.

Ernakulam Enforcement RTO Biju Isaac said there were a total of 63 AI-enabled cameras in the district. Increasing their number and installing surveillance cameras that can detect speed violations round the clock will help curb overspeeding, reckless driving and other offences, he added.

Another MVD official said the government could explore the feasibility of sourcing CSR funds from different firms to install CCTVs if funds were in short supply. The government must also recruit more personnel to the MVD and the police and deploy them at night on the Edappally-Aroor NH Bypass, Panampilly Nagar Road, airport road and Container Road, where young people tend to drive at speeds exceeding 100 kmph, often under the influence of liquor and intoxicants.

Apart from camera surveillance, the presence of patrol teams would deter traffic rule violators. Many of the limited number of enforcement vehicles are currently out of service because the government has not paid their fuel and workshop bills, he added.

A senior traffic police official said that rule enforcement had taken a back seat, as a considerable number of police personnel were deployed in multiple shifts at bottlenecked and unscientifically planned junctions just to streamline traffic movement. “It is high time such junctions were widened and automatic signals installed wherever required. This will help personnel focus on road safety and accident-prevention measures.”

Despite recurrent accidents caused by overspeeding, the multi-crore Integrated Command, Control and Communication Centre (IC-4), set up by Cochin Smart Mission Limited (CSML) in the city to monitor and penalise recklessly driven vehicles, is reportedly not being used optimally.