Gone are the days when traffic policemen would come in their rickety jeeps warning people to remove haphazardly parked vehicles. They will now come on the two-wheeled, self-balancing personal transporter — Segway.
The vehicles are expected to be launched in the next few days and will be used predominantly on the Marina Loop Road and the pedestrian plaza in Pondy Bazaar.
“As of now we will be getting three of them. Once we find them successful, we will order more,” said a senior traffic police officer.
The vehicle will be fitted with a speaker, siren and boxes to keep the belongings of the policemen. “The traffic personnel will also be wearing body cameras. They will go on the loop road and pavements warning people to remove the vehicles,” added the police officer.
A traffic enforcement police constable said that many of them find it difficult to cover the lengthy stretches.
“The Segway will be an ideal mode of commute. We can cover the stretch from Light House to Napier Bridge and check for violations, especially haphazard parking of two-wheelers and cars. Besides these can turn 360 degrees,” the police officer added. The policemen will be trained in using them. “The Puducherry police have already launched this. So we wanted to try something novel,” an officer said.
In a bid to handle women traffic violators, the city police will be launching a special woman squad in four police districts.
Special women squad
“Each team will comprise a sub-inspector and four constables. They will also be given bikes to travel,” explained a police officer.
He said that the traffic police force, especially the enforcement wing, comprises mainly men.
“During vehicle checks, the women motorists feel uncomfortable especially if it is pertaining to violation like drunken driving. Hence we decided to form the women squad,” said the police officer.
