City traffic police collects 50% more in fines than last year

Fewer hassles in paying up fines boost collection. Traffic police track violators more easily, thanks to the gadgets.

Variable Message Signboards (VMS) have been installed to inform the motorist about safety messages, traffic diversions and road accidents to enable the motorist to plan their routes. Right now they have been installed at ten locations such as Hebbal Road – Towards Bengaluru City and Towards BIAL, and Basaveshwara Circle on Race Course Road The traffic police plan to install VMS at another 10 locations in the city.

Bengaluru’s traffic police department has collected 36 crores as fine amount between January to September 2010 compared to 23 crores in 2009 for the same period, registering an increase of 50 percent.

In September alone around 2.8 lakh cases have been registered by the Bengaluru City traffic police with a fine collected amounting to over 4 crores.

Not having to go to the police stations or courts to pay fines has made a big difference in the collections. Mohammed Sajjad Khan, Police Inspector, DCP traffic (East) division  says "After Bangalore One was authorised to collect fines, there has been a drastic increase in revenue since people were comfortable not going to police station instead pay at the Bangalore One centers."

 

A BMTC bus jumping signal is being caught on wide screen through TMS. Pic: Prabhu M.

BMTC drivers’ traffic violations comprise a significant number of cases. An average of 67 cases are booked against BMTC drivers every month for rash driving and 1760 cases for jumping traffic signals and wrong parking. The traffic police conduct sensitisation courses and training for BMTC drivers but despite that every month fines of around 2 lakh is being collected from them.

"There are around 1500 traffic police men posted in Bangalore and in 160 junctions surveillance cameras are installed. The registration numbers of the vehicles violating certain rules are easily captured" says, Police Inspector, Khan.

Comments:

  1. Vishwas says:

    The Bangalore traffic police have done a fantastic job of automating the monitoring of traffic violations. The use of the Blackberry devices and the mobile printers are spectacular innovations in civic policy. Hats off to the officers and the private initiatives which have made this a reality. What is needed now is political reform to make the fines meaningful – a Rs 100 fine is only seen as a cost of driving in Bangalore and will not serve as a deterrent or motivate better driving practices. Further political and judicial reform is needed to document and track habitual offenders.

  2. BengaluruBudhi says:

    It is also imperative that the revenue not go to benefit the Police/City/State or any other authority involved in collecting the fines or making rules about fines.

    Note that it is almost impossible to refute the fine and no evidence is provided – no wonder that the average citizen just pays up.

    Second, tampering with the system to enhance revenue has happened even in developed countries, so the less said about Bengaluru, the better.

    There are many more disadvantages of this automated system and ‘enhanced revenue collection’; all of which can be alleviated by donating the collections to charity. I suggest ‘The Great Ape Project’

  3. Nagaraja Magonahalli says:

    Mr. Sood, in fact the remaining 50% has gone into pockets of officials who handle the situation, otherwise collection would have been double. This is a well known fact to all vehicle users in Bangalore.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Similar Story

,

Maharashtra cities need a mobility fix: Building roads not a solution

Mumbai and other urban centres in Maharashtra have seen a surge in vehicle ownership, while public transport needs have not been met.

Maharashtra, one of India’s most urbanised States, faces a transportation crisis that has snowballed into a public health, environmental, and economic challenge. With over half its population residing in urban areas, Maharashtra is home to 28 municipal corporations — the highest in the country. Cities like Mumbai and Pune are struggling with the relentless surge in vehicle ownership, which has led to traffic congestion, alarming pollution levels, and a steep rise in road crashes.  Despite these pressing concerns, many cities have pursued an approach focused on expanding road infrastructure, relying on flyovers and highways to absorb traffic overflow. However, experts…

Similar Story

Walkability and affordable transit ignored as elections focus on big projects in Mumbai

Political parties are harping on big-ticket projects, while hardly anyone is focusing on the city's lifelines — BEST and railways.

As the Maharashtra state elections get underway, the daily struggles of Mumbai's citizens, especially their commuting woes, seem to be overlooked in the electoral discourse. Political parties are focusing on massive infrastructure projects, sidelining the city's lifelines like the Railways and the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking in favour of the Metro Rail. Despite being partially operational, the Metro has yet to make a significant impact. Surveys reveal that 52% of Mumbaikars walk to work, yet on many roads, pedestrian infrastructure remains neglected, encroached upon, and unusable. While traffic congestion has made commuting a nightmare, trains are perennially…