EM Bypass: Speeding could now get your driving licence suspended as police revise traffic penalties and rely increasingly on electronic surveillance to slam the brakes on motorists taking advantage of empty roads between midnight and dawn.

According to a directive from the city police headquarters to the assistant commissioners of the traffic department, a vehicle travelling at a speed of 100kmph and above within the city is a serious offence and the driver's licence should be suspended.

The proposed penalty is in line with a Supreme Court directive on road safety.

"Speed limits on different arteries are already defined and the assistant commissioners have been told that any (speeding) violation of 100kmph or above should immediately invite suspension of the driving licence for three months," Sumit Kumar, the deputy commissioner of police (traffic), told Metro.

A motorist is prosecuted for speeding under sections 112/183(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and a first offence invites a fine of Rs 300. The plan is to summon anyone who drives at 100kmph or above to the office of an assistant commissioner of police for a hearing. An offender's driving licence can be impounded under the revised rules.

The density of day traffic in Calcutta makes speeding impossible on most roads, but motorists stepping on the accelerator has become common late at night and early in the morning. Wider roads, new flyovers and the 24/7 presence of app cabs are some of the factors behind the increase in average speed.

Police officers said motorists were most likely to speed along the Bypass, the Parama-Park Circus and AJC Bose Road flyovers and Vidyasagar Setu. Cameras fitted along the Bypass near Yuba Bharati Krirangan often record car speeds in the range of 103-106kmph around 4am.

"Even two-wheelers taking the AJC Bose Road flyover have clocked similar speeds around 6am," said an officer of the south traffic guard.

The reasons cited for speeding range from being late for a drop or pick-up at the airport to taking someone to hospital. "We left off someone if the reason is a genuine one such as a medical emergency," an officer said.

A Supreme Court-appointed committee on road safety, headed by Justice (retired) K.S. Radhakrishnan, had framed a set of guidelines in 2014 to curb speeding, drink driving, signal violations and use of mobile phones at the wheel. The chief secretaries of all states were asked to set up a road safety council each.

Bengal set up a 28-member council headed by the chief secretary in 2015 but implementation of the guidelines never happened.

The committee later issued another directive on suspending a driving licence "for a period not less than three months" if someone is prosecuted for:

• Driving at a speed exceeding the specified limit

• Jumping a red light

• Overloading goods vehicles and carrying people in them

• Using a mobile phone at the wheel

• Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs

The authority to suspend a licence had been restricted to the transport department till it was revised to include the police. In Calcutta, the deputy commissioner of police (traffic) has now delegated that power to the assistant commissioners.

"Till a few months ago, a driving licence being suspended was rare," said a senior officer whose area of jurisdiction includes Diamond Harbour Road and James Long Sarani. "Now, if someone is caught going over 100kmph, suspending a licence after a hearing will be the norm."