The traffic department has procured six speed radar guns. Anyone found guilty will have to pay a fine up to Rs 500.

This comes after the city recorded 462 road accident deaths in 2007. This year it stands at a staggering 182 till the end of May. The traffic department of the Kolkata police has found out that in many cases, the accidents occurred due to over speeding and rash driving.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Manoj Verma said that the department had recently done a detailed survey regarding the speed of vehicles on various roads in the city. “This was the basis of our speed limit introduction. Through this survey we could ascertain at what speeds vehicles moved on which roads,” said Verma.

“Section 112 of the Central Motor Vehicle Act has been the guiding law for enforcing speed limits. The Act states that the maximum speed for any vehicle plying on Indian roads should be under 65 kmph,” said Verma. He, however, admitted that there were no speed limit signals on city roads. “We will soon put up signboards indicating the speed limits,” he added.

The maximum speed limit is applicable for buses and other heavy vehicles. For lighter vehicles like bikes the speed limit will be lower.