Mumbai-Pune expressway traffic now monitored by drones

A fleet of drones was used on the Mumbai-Pune expressway to monitor traffic and penalize the violators. This is the first time that drones were used to monitor traffic in India.

The drones were deployed in the ghat section between the Lonavala Exit and Khalapur Toll Plaza and traffic violations like overspeeding, lane splitting, etc., were recorded.

The ghat section between Lonavala exit and Khalapur toll plaza was chosen for the trial run of the drones. Using the drones, the police managed to penalize 15 violators by showing them the photographic evidence of the violations when they stopped at the toll gate. The ghat section has been witnessing a rise in fatal accidents of late.

Ensuring that the drivers aren’t rash or negligent would go a long way in reducing the fatalities on the expressway. The drone exercise was conducted by the state government with the help of Aerial Mappers. Each drone was flown with a help of a pilot, a co-pilot, a technician and a policeman.

The traffic violators were stopped and penalized at the toll gate. The drone captured the license plates of the violating vehicles. Tickets were then handed over to the drivers along with photographic evidence at the toll plaza. The exercise was conducted on a trial basis and we expect it to be implemented as a regular measure in the near future.

Since 2002, 14,500 accidents have been reported on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and 1,400 people have died in accidents. Given that the road witnesses traffic of 40,000 vehicles daily, surveillance by police staff becomes a serious challenge.

This article first appeared on Rushlane.com