MillenniumPost
Bengal

'Dedicated team for highway surveillance needed'

Kolkata: The accident of the Ferrari on National Highway 6 in Howrah on Sunday that claimed a life has brought to the forefront the need of a separate wing of the police exclusively to look after traffic movement on the highways.
It may be mentioned that the car was at a speed of above 150 km per hour and as a result, it overturned at least seven to eight times before hitting a roadside metal railing. Though the investigating officers are yet to ascertain the exact reason behind the accident, experts on road transport feel that it is necessary to form a separate wing of the police to ensure that traffic norms are not violated on highways.
According to an officer of the state police who is deeply involved in the management of traffic, policemen are deployed at intersections in the city and they immediately inform their counterparts in the next intersection if they find any vehicle passing at high speed. The car or the two-wheeler is intercepted immediately at the next intersection which prevents road accidents.
Similarly, in a bid to ensure that vehicles ply on highways without crossing the maximum speed limit as set in the norms, there is a need to set up a team comprising policemen to look after traffic management only on highways. "The officers also need to be provided with training to know all the aspects of traffic management so that they can take immediate and necessary steps to check accidents on highways," the officer said adding that they will also ensure that no illegal parking takes place along the highways which is another reason behind accidents on highways.
It may be recalled that Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee also suffered an accident on National Highway 2 and illegal parking was the reason behind it.
A section of officers of the specialised wing to look after the traffic management on highways will be continuously patrolling to ensure no illegal parking takes places. It may be mentioned that at present local police stations look after the same on highways that fall under their jurisdiction.
"But a dedicated set of team is necessary to be in place for round-the-clock surveillance," he said.
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