The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Highway patrol vehicles flagged off

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 25, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Highway patrol vehicles flagged off

Staff Reporter

Aim is to check dangerous driving, prevent highway robberies

– Photo: C. Ratheesh Kumar

for Better policing: Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan along with people’s representatives and senior police officials inspecting the newly acquired fleet of vehicles for highway patrol in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.

Thiruvananthapuram: Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said that the highway police should focus more on accident prevention and not on exacting fines from motorists.

Flagging off the newly acquired highway patrol vehicles here on Tuesday, he urged highway patrol officers to be servants of the people.

The State police now have 42 new highway patrol vehicles, all equipped with first-aid kits and stretchers. Four policemen, including one armed Sub-Inspector, will man each vehicle. They will carry anti-riot equipment, including helmets, batons and polycarbonate shields. The policemen will work in 12-hour shifts.

Tools to operate

Each vehicle has been equipped with a mobile phone, speed monitoring radar, breathalyser, fire extinguisher, reflective tape, crow bar, hand-cuff, electronic signal light baton and retro-reflective cones (used for diverting traffic in the event of an accident or emergency at night).

The primary tasks of the highway police include rushing accident victims to hospitals, preventing highway robberies, checking dangerous driving, ensuring smooth flow of traffic and detecting sand and spirit smuggling.

Each patrol will cover a 40-km stretch. Local police stations will monitor the position of highway patrols. They should ensure that cyclists and pedestrians do not come in conflict with fast moving highway traffic.

Checking bribe

Inspector General of Police (modernisation) Loknath Behra has devised a standard operating procedure for these patrols. They should not stop and check more than one vehicle at a time. While checking vehicles, no officer should be seated in the patrol vehicle. (This is to prevent patrol officers from accepting bribes on the sly).

Option to move court

If a traffic offence is detected, the patrol should not compel the road user or motorist to pay the fine on the spot. They should be given the option not to the pay the fine and contest the police charge in court. The patrols will be responsible for keeping the highways free of obstructions.

They could prosecute people who dump building materials close to the carriage way or dig up roads without Government’s permission.

The police will also prevent unauthorised parking of buses, autorickshaws and taxis. The State police are also planning to equip highway patrol vehicles with global positioning system.

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