Traffic police - why stand and deliver?

I was on my bike in Jayanagar and was stopped for the usual paper checking.. I had renewed the insurance just two days back and was unfortunately not carrying a copy of the new document. I tried my best to convince them but they were adamant. I even offered my DL and said keep this and I will come back with the document. But they wanted me to leave the bike and go.. and even mocked me by offering to pay for auto. If only I had the time..

Anyways, I was on my way to ATM so walked all the way to the ATM and handed the guy the fine amount of 500 rs. Again mentioning that I have renewed the insurance two days back.. he then offered me Rs 300 back and said fine go !

This was my moment of glory, in front of all his subordinates and other public. I refused and did so loudly and asked him to give me a receipt. He was certainly not amused. But I was happy that I made a point not only to him but even to other people around him. 

 

http://clean-and-green.bl...

 

SB - Interesting Stuff !

The chances of violations may be lower with the bigger cars, perhaps as per BTP's staistics, since they dont check them anyway !  Maybe this is how they justify this & consider it not "worth" their efforts to check them, or is there more to this ?

This is, in my opinion incorrect & invalid. All vehicles must be checked, irrespective of their length or class or cadre. This is again playing into the hands of the Car lobbies. This is a new entity - the "Big Car Lobby", an invisible entity beneath the surface, I guess. Yesterday, an audi was passing recklessly along airport rd (old), & though the cop saw it at agaram rd jn, he was too lazy to make the effort to note down his number or rise from his perch beneath the shelter.

I think they only "Stand & deliver" because there are no incentives whatsoever for better enforcement. In Mumbai, they once had a program to reward cops who met a certain criteria of booking x no. of vehicles a month, or some such. Though successful in bringing about fear of the cop on the roads, it had been dismantled at that time, but it changed the perception of the cop on the streets. Maybe we need something like this here as enforcemnt is outright silly.

 

 

SB - very valid questions.

Many years back, Infosys had gifted some 30-odd bikes to assist traffic cops in their patrols ('Cheetahs' - they were called, & painted like cheetahs too). Though there were no pakka newsreports, from what I gathered, I think fuel allocated for these bikes were "leaking" somehow into the cops' own vehicles :)  & the patrolling scheme had died a 'natural' death, as do almost all such initiatives in this land !

I think, presently the cops entitled to "company" owned bikes or jeeps are only above a certain rank upwards as leakage & misuse is a menace that simply cannot be controlled. If fuel is controlled through a particular petrol station with coupons, soon enough the bunk owner "assists" with siphoning fuel back to his own storage tank with cash rewards, maybe ! This was what was happening to my co's office vehicles in mumbai. So, now they are entirely outsourcing the pickup /drop-ff services based on actual no. of trips to /from airport /hotel, etc & gotten rid of all the vehicles & drivers.

I am surprised that you were overcharged for the offence - do you still have the challan ? If so, it can be challenged & maybe we need a WG here.

The "stand & deliver" tactics also need to be questioned - they have to find a way to make patrolling workable - fit sealed meters, both for fuel & milage, perhaps ?

 

Yes, Murali sir, Naveen, we will do a WG for this one. Let the current site upgrade work be over and we will get started with two WGs, "public transport" and "enforcement".

 

I keep wondering too - "will just 6-8 of those interceptors be enough for a city like Bangalore?" I think, the idea of interceptors is good. But, a better thing would be to educate drivers about traffic rules. In most of the western countries, a person gets his DL by first writing a test and then taking a road test. Most youngsters getting their DLs are quite thorough with traffic rules and take the road test seriously. On the other hand, in our country, most of us don't even take up a test but we have a DL in our hands. How do we make sure people get a DL through a proper channel? We really need to think seriously about this. We badly need STOP signs ( the STOP sign board should be atleast at a height of 7 feet - most signs are at such low height that you end up hitting them very often) where four roads meet. Drivers need to respect the concept that "right of way for the person who is at the intersection first". They need to learn that STOP sign means "come to a complete halt, make sure no one is in your way and then proceed". Anybody who violates a STOP sign should be fined. For these things to happen, like you mention, "stand and deliver" method will not work. Why can't our traffic police have atleast a Scooty or a similar vehicle with a little bit of accessories, where they can switch on a flashing light or a siren to catch the violator? Signs that say "yield to pedestrians" must be put near schools; along with this sign, we badly need zebra crossing markings on busy streets. Crossing busy roads is a nightmare. Is there any way we can meet the authorities and make some changes to our city and make our city a better place?