Speed radar guns miss Trichy’s speeding hotspots

Trichy: Even as Trichy city police have procured portable speed radar guns to curb speeding, the devices are rarely used on arterial roads where speeding is most common, residents and activists have alleged.Anna Nagar Link Road, Bharathidasan Road in Cantonment, KK Nagar Main Road, E Pudur Road in Crawford and Thillai Nagar Main Road are among the smooth, straight stretches where motorists, particularly bikers, frequently exceed speed limits. However, enforcement on these roads remains minimal, they said.Instead, police enforcement is largely concentrated at roundabouts and road junctions, where vehicles naturally slow down, reducing the effectiveness of speed checks.

“Morning walkers are often intimidated by speeding bikes in the early hours. Since police presence is limited between 6am and 7am, and after 10pm, several youngsters even conduct informal bike races,” said A Gnanaprakasam, a retired railway employee from Thennur.Activists questioned why speed radar guns and real-time CCTV cameras are not permanently deployed on these vulnerable stretches to deter speeding and improve road safety.A senior police officer said enforcement would be expanded. “We are gradually extending speed checks to these roads as well, and cases are being booked periodically,” the officer said.