80% traffic offenders going free

80% traffic offenders going free

VIjay Times

With sophisticated gadgets like simputers and hand-held computers to book traffic violators notwithstanding, the traffic police are missing out on a whopping 80 per cent of the fines from being paid, as those booked and penalised are going unaccounted for.

The reason is that the regional transport offices (RTOs) do not have the details up on their computerised networks for the authorities to trace and issue summons to ensure that fines are paid. The data is not updated, making compatibility with the sophisticated hand-held gadgets difficult.

M N Reddy, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), and M A Saleem, DCP Traffic (East), admitted that as the challans (issued as per section 133 of Motor Vehicle Act) are sent to the concerned vehicle owners, only about 20 per cent of them come and pay the fine at the fine collection centres set up at 39 police stations in Bangalore. The rest of them may not turn up, they said.

"But when their database is created, the next time they are caught for traffic violations, the previous offence details will be procured from simputers and we would try to recover at least 50 per cent of the fine amount," Reddy said.

While around 20 per cent of those booked and fined are Bangalore-registered vehicles, vehicles from outstation or peripheral areas of the City are breaking rules and are going scot-free as the police have no records about their registration to track and issue summons.

According to records, last year Rs 18.5 crore was collected as fine from the penalised motorists, which could easily have been a significantly higher amount in the States exchequer.

Interestingly, despite all the sophistication involved in the fine collection process, fines collected manually amounted to more than that done through enforcement automation.

This was because most of the offenders didnt turn up at the fine collection centres to pay up. That the fine collection process is moving at a snails pace is confirmed from the fact that four years back there was no data available even for Bangalore-registered vehicles.

"Now, with the transport department taking up the task of computerising data of vehicles in the entire Karnataka, traffic offenders whether from Bangalore or outside cannot go scot-free," Reddy said.

However, Enforcement Automation Centre officials confirmed that they were penalising only vehicles registered in Bangalore Central (KA 01), Bangalore West (KA 02), Bangalore East (KA 03), Bangalore North (KA 04) and Bangalore South (KA 05) as only their details were computerised at the respective RTOs.

"Rest of the RTOs that have newly come up, like Rajarajeshwarinagar (KA 41), Devanahalli (KA 43), Yelahanka (KA 50) and K R Puram (KA 53) are not computerised and hence despite penalising the offenders, we are not able to ensure that fines are paid or even summons issued, the official said.



4 Absence of online connectivity between the enforcement automation centres and the computerised RTOs

4 Only 5 RTOs are computerised

4 The newly set up RTOs are not computerised

4 Vehicle sellers and buyers are not submitting the Form 29 and Form 30 for the change of ownership at the concerned RTOs.