Govind D Belgaumkar/The Hindu

• ‘There are no trained personnel to handle the equipment’

Mangalore, Mar 28: The Rs. 38-lac worth interceptor, a vehicle with high-tech equipment, procured with the intention of making the vehicle users in the city law-abiding, has been pushed into a shed here. It was launched four months ago.

Lack of trained personnel to handle the interceptor is said to be the reason for not utilising it regularly. The interceptor can send information about violators of traffic rules to the traffic regulators, with evidence.

Risk involved

The officials do not want to risk using the “sensitive” equipment as they fear that mishandling it could put them in an awkward position. “It has two computers. If something goes wrong with them, we will not be able to repair them. We will be held responsible for it,” said an official on condition of anonymity.

Regional Traffic Officer D. Sadashiva told The Hindu that the supplier had sent a person a few weeks ago to train the transport officials. “But the person himself was not conversant with the equipment.” Mr. Sadashiva said he had written to the supplier to send a well-trained person to impart proper training to officials.

The state-of-the-art camera fixed to the interceptor takes pictures of over-speeding vehicles, people riding two-wheelers without helmets, speaking on cellphones while driving, and so on. The pictures are taken and recorded from a 2-km distance. The photographs are stored, with date and time of occurrence, in a laptop computer in the interceptor and another system in the office of the Regional Transport Officer. This information can be relayed to traffic inspectors through walkie-talkie for instant action against the erring motorists.

The interceptor is equipped with a breath analyser to check if a motorist has consumed liquor. In January, the transport officials booked more than 100 cases and checked 1,000 vehicles with the help of the interceptor. They collected about Rs. 1 lac as fine.