Above all else, we need firm policing

Above all else, we need firm policing
Sujit John | TNN


Bangalore’s additional commissioner of police for traffic Praveen Sood has, over the past several months, written a series of articles for this newspaper trying to change road users’ mindsets in a way that could bring more order and discipline to the chaos that reigns on city roads today.
It’s nice to see a police officer do that and we have no quarrel about that. But all too often, the articles also convey the impression that Sood believes changing mindsets and good behaviour is the only answer to the problem. And that’s where we have a problem.
Sood should consider this question: Why do Bangaloreans who drive insensitively or maniacally here, do not dare to do that the moment they land in, say, the US or Europe or Singapore? Can mindsets change overnight? They can’t and they don’t. What changes is the policing environment.
Last year, on an intercity highway in California where there was little traffic, we were stopped by the police for speeding. The speed limit was 65 mph and my friend was driving at 80 mph because we had got late for an appointment (my friend normally follows traffic rules strictly). The cop was firm. There was no question of arguing with him. And my friend later got a notice to pay a $200 fine and an order to undergo a one-day refresher course on traffic rules. Both of which he did.
Now, a $200 fine is 1.67% of my friend’s monthly salary of $12,000 (Rs 5,76,000). Compare that with fines in Bangalore. Somebody in my friend’s position here would be earning at least Rs 1,50,000 a month, but the person would pay a fine of just Rs 100 for most traffic offence. That’s 0.066% of his salary. In comparable terms, therefore, an American pays a fine that’s 25 times more than a Bangalorean does.
In short, steep fines combined with firmness of policing automatically translates into disciplined driving. And that’s what Sood should be focusing on.
There’s no reason to be apologetic about imposing such a discipline because it’s ultimately about people’s safety and lives, and there should be no compromise on that.
Today, pedestrians can’t walk on raised pedestrian crossings — which Sood’s department has been encouraging as per his recent article in The Times of India — without taking a big risk. The raised crossings look set to become another money gobbler without serving their purpose.
The money spent on B-Trac, the Blackberrys (the highest number purchased by any police department in the world, we were told), the yellow crisscrossing lines at major junctions (99.9% of Bangaloreans probably don’t know why they are there) could all go the same way in the absence of determined policing.