Laser Speed Guns to Be Rolled Out in Visakhapatnam from April 1

Police Commissioner Shankhabrata Bagchi has announced that city police will deploy laser speed guns at ten accident-prone locations from April 1 to strengthen traffic enforcement and curb road fatalities. The move follows the deferment of the proposed AI-driven traffic management system due to unavoidable reasons.

According to police estimates, road accidents claim around 400 lives annually and injure nearly 1,200 people. Officials admitted that, despite multiple interventions, road safety outcomes have not shown the desired improvement. The steady rise in vehicle numbers has also worsened congestion at key junctions.

Motorists frequently face long delays at major intersections, with signal clearance times stretching up to 15 minutes during peak hours. Authorities observed that such delays often result in violations, including signal jumping, thereby increasing accident risks.

The earlier proposal, developed in coordination with the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC), envisaged the installation of AI-enabled CCTV cameras at about 83 junctions to enable automated violation detection, issuance of e-challans, and facial recognition support. Although a trial run was completed and requests for proposals were invited, the project did not proceed as scheduled.

As an alternative, police will procure laser speed guns through CSR funding. In the first phase, the devices will detect offences such as overspeeding, triple riding, mobile phone use while driving, and riding without helmets. Violations will be recorded through photographic evidence and transmitted to the Police Command and Control Centre for challan issuance.

Traffic police officials said operational arrangements are being finalised ahead of the April 1 rollout.