Traffic woes: A tale of two cities

Traffic woes: A tale of two cities
Ambarish B | TNN

Bangalore: The handling of traffic violations in New Delhi and Bangalore make for a study of contrasts despite having similar tales of woe. Both cities have the highest number of vehicles and grapple with similar traffic problems. However, while New Delhi has handled the same by delegating responsibility to staff lower in the hierarchy, Bangalore is still seeking solutions.
Delhi High Court recently empowered traffic head constables to issue challans and levy penalties against violators. The order was passed given the growing vehicle population and high number of offences in the national capital. Interestingly, Bangalore tops the number of traffic-related offences nationwide, yet empowering traffic cops is not seen as a step forward here.
A minimum of 5,000 traffic violations take place in Bangalore every day. Yet, only a subinspector and officers of higher rank can issue challans and levy spot fines. However, on M G Road and Brigade Road, constables note down the offence and bring it to the notice of their seniors without initiating action. To tackle the problem, the traffic police will be equipped with BlackBerry handsets soon. “Lower-rung officials — from constables to assistant sub-inspectors — could only note down a field traffic violation report (FTVR). This was sent to the automation centre. Now, we are trying to catch defaulters with the help of BlackBerries, which will be introduced by the end of the month,’’ DCP east (traffic) M A Saleem told TOI.
However, there are apprehensions that this could lead to more corruption. “Traffic woes in Delhi are different from those here. Giving constables or head constables the powers to issue challan would create new problems. No other developing country has a spot-fine system. Instead, we need exclusive levy collection centres to make a difference,’’ a traffic official said.
The 250 BlackBerries will be used only by sub-inspectors and their seniors. These will work in tandem with a central server. “Black-Berry also helps reduce corruption as a receipt for the fine is issued to the offender on the spot and this will simultaneously be recorded by the central server. The fine amount for each violation will be stored on the handset. Moreover, repeat violators will get three times higher fine automatically calculated using the stored data,’’ DCP Saleem said.
Violations in Bangalore: 5,000 per day
Signal-jumping, drunken driving top the list Fine collected by the traffic police — Rs 5 lakh per day, largely for offences like signal jumping, no-parking and helmet violation, as per records
with the departmentTraffic woes: A tale of two cities
Ambarish B | TNN

Bangalore: The handling of traffic violations in New Delhi and Bangalore make for a study of contrasts despite having similar tales of woe. Both cities have the highest number of vehicles and grapple with similar traffic problems. However, while New Delhi has handled the same by delegating responsibility to staff lower in the hierarchy, Bangalore is still seeking solutions.
Delhi High Court recently empowered traffic head constables to issue challans and levy penalties against violators. The order was passed given the growing vehicle population and high number of offences in the national capital. Interestingly, Bangalore tops the number of traffic-related offences nationwide, yet empowering traffic cops is not seen as a step forward here.
A minimum of 5,000 traffic violations take place in Bangalore every day. Yet, only a subinspector and officers of higher rank can issue challans and levy spot fines. However, on M G Road and Brigade Road, constables note down the offence and bring it to the notice of their seniors without initiating action. To tackle the problem, the traffic police will be equipped with BlackBerry handsets soon. “Lower-rung officials — from constables to assistant sub-inspectors — could only note down a field traffic violation report (FTVR). This was sent to the automation centre. Now, we are trying to catch defaulters with the help of BlackBerries, which will be introduced by the end of the month,’’ DCP east (traffic) M A Saleem told TOI.
However, there are apprehensions that this could lead to more corruption. “Traffic woes in Delhi are different from those here. Giving constables or head constables the powers to issue challan would create new problems. No other developing country has a spot-fine system. Instead, we need exclusive levy collection centres to make a difference,’’ a traffic official said.
The 250 BlackBerries will be used only by sub-inspectors and their seniors. These will work in tandem with a central server. “Black-Berry also helps reduce corruption as a receipt for the fine is issued to the offender on the spot and this will simultaneously be recorded by the central server. The fine amount for each violation will be stored on the handset. Moreover, repeat violators will get three times higher fine automatically calculated using the stored data,’’ DCP Saleem said.
Violations in Bangalore: 5,000 per day
Signal-jumping, drunken driving top the list Fine collected by the traffic police — Rs 5 lakh per day, largely for offences like signal jumping, no-parking and helmet violation, as per records
with the department