Drones Monitor Mumbai-Pune Expressway in India
India: The Maharashtra government
for the first time deployed drones on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway to stop
disobedient drivers. The expressway which is 95km long has attained a
reputation for turning into a ‘death zone’ due to reckless drivers and their
rash driving which becomes the main cause for several accidents.
The drones will operate from
four base stations and are expected to work day-and-night to monitor overtaking
and rash driving on this expressway.
“We conducted the
demonstration on Saturday and Sunday, between noon and 4 p.m. and used two
drones in the ghat section [between the Lonavala exit and the Khalapur toll
plaza] to monitor traffic on both sides,” said Amol Tambe, Superintendent of
Police (Highways), Pune region.
Minister of State for Home
(Urban) Deepak Vasant Kesarkar said, “Drones would be deployed on a pilot
basis, because the incidents of rash driving were too many for the minuscule
police teams to handle” he further added, “CCTV cameras are not as effective as
drones. Hence, we decided to deploy drone cameras to instil discipline.”
The government started
looking for a solution after accidents claimed 30 lives in past three months.
In June, over 35 persons were injured and 17 were killed on the spot when a
luxury bus collided with two cars and then crashed into a 20-foot ditch.
According to a recent report
published by TechSci Research, “Global
Commercial Drone Market By Drone Type,
By Application, By Region, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2015-2021”, over the next decade,
rapidly evolving drone technology is expected to transform the conventional way
of doing business in various sectors. Evolving regulatory policy framework,
increasing commercial applications of drones across various end-use sectors,
coupled with advancements in drone technologies are projected to propel growth
in global commercial drone market in the ensuing years.
As per TechSci Research, it
is anticipated that the Indian government is likely to increase the use of
drones for enhancing public safety in the coming years, which is further
expected to fuel the growth of global commercial drone market.