Bhubaneswar, March 11: Imagine Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock speeding on NH-5 à la the 1994 Hollywood action thriller Speed. Reeves and Bullock would outrun city cops, who have just one interceptor vehicle and limited manpower to handle speed monsters on city roads.

Sources in the regional transport office (RTO) said they could not keep a tab on speeding vehicles at various places of the city simultaneously with such meagre resources.

“We have to operate the vehicle with only one inspector, one constable and one operator, which makes it difficult to stop speeding vehicles and impose fines. There are two national highways passing through Bhubaneswar. So, it becomes really difficult to crack down on speeding with only one interceptor,” said a senior RTO official.

The interceptor vehicle imposes penalty on around 20 vehicles every day. Though the Cuttack-Bhubaneswar police have three laser guns to measure the speed of vehicles, the police can conduct drives once in every seven days because of shortage of manpower.

The interceptors are equipped with a speed laser camera that focuses on the vehicles and calculates the speed of a vehicle. The surveillance camera installed inside the interceptor has a range of 500 meters.

It is also capable of 360-degree rotation, which helps in tracking the illegally parked vehicles.

The entire operation, including the issuance of a challan, is done automatically. The penalty for breaking the speed limit is Rs 1,400. While the speed barrier for any transport vehicle is 65kmph within city limits, for buses and motorcycles it is 50kmph.

The RTO’s enforcement team is also suffering from lack of manpower. At present, the RTO has only one enforcement team, comprising four constables and three traffic inspectors. Sources in the transport office said their present staff strength was grossly inadequate for routine patrolling and other work.

While the ongoing expansion on NH-5 has resulted in heavy vehicular congestion on the stretch between Palasuni and Khandagiri Square during peak hours, vehicles can be spotted driving at high speed during night.

Accidents in the city have been a major concern for the transport officials. Statistics available with the state transport authority revealed that 189 people had died and 564 persons were injured in the 599 accidents that took place in 2011.

Between January 1 and September 30 last year, the city saw 457 accidents that killed 158 persons and injured 474.