A white Mahindra Scorpio Classic moving quietly through traffic or parked by the roadside may appear inconspicuous to motorists. But behind it, radar and camera systems could be scanning vehicles, detecting violations and recording evidence without the offender even realising that they have been caught. Nearly 18 months after radar-based enforcement vehicles were introduced, four such vehicles are now patrolling Nagpur district every day, creating a mobile surveillance network covering both the city and highways.

 

Two vehicles operate under the Nagpur Rural RTO (MH-40) and patrol highways, while one each is deployed under Nagpur City RTOs MH-31 and MH-49. Equipped with radar-based systems, cameras and automatic number plate recognition technology, the vehicles can detect violations including overspeeding, riding without a helmet, triple riding and failure to wear seat belts. The mobile nature of the units also makes their locations difficult for motorists to predict, unlike fixed cameras or conventional checkpoints. “All four radar vehicles operate in mutual coordination so that different areas can be kept under surveillance more effectively,” said Kiran Bidkar, RTO, Nagpur City.

 

The rural units have a particular role in highway enforcement, where overspeeding and other dangerous violations can have serious consequences. “The highways are kept under watch every day through the radar vehicles. The vehicles patrol different stretches and keep a continuous watch on traffic violations,” said Vijay Chavan, Additional RTO, Nagpur Rural (MH-40). The increase in e-challans indicates that the system is being actively used. But the figures also reveal a stark difference between enforcement and recovery in the city.