ISLAMABAD – After months of hiatus, speed cameras have reappeared on different roads of the city to check speeding to curb fatal traffic accidents.
A senior police official told ONLINE around 20 speed guns have been installed on different roads including Seventh Avenue, Ninth Avenue, Kashmir Highway and Murree road to check speeding. “The number of fatal accidents was increasing in the city owing to speeding by public and private vehicles; therefore the authorities were requested to provide the cameras to the traffic police.”
Interior Minister Rehman Malik provided the new speed cameras to the traffic police around three months back in a ceremony. However a dozen of speed cameras available with the traffic police were broken down to beyond repair. “We had to dispatch the malfunctioned cameras abroad to get them fixed and the expenditure on repairs was more than actual cost of the cameras. Therefore, the plan was dropped and it was decided to import new cameras.”
The official said the spare parts of these cameras were imported while they were assembled in the country to save money. “The step is taken in the wake of criticism and pressure on the traffic police to curb speeding and fatal accidents in the city.” Youngsters and public transporters were the main offenders and most of the fatal accidents were happening due to over speeding by them on the main avenues, he said, adding motorists are required to observe the specific speed limit on different roads.
When asked about fine on speeding, he said, violators of specific speed limit are fined Rs 200. There is a shortage of public transport in Islamabad; therefore students of different schools and colleges have to travel on roofs of public transports. “We reprimand and discourage public transporters for allowing students to travel on rooftops but we also have to be realistic. If we keep fining them, the transporters will either resort to protests or close down the service.” The official said placement of the guns on different roads is not part of a special campaign instead it is part of a permanent duty of police personnel deployed in the field.