Chasing violators risky, ineffective
VIOLATIONS Traffic police use cameras to track offending vehicles’ registration numbers, send challans to home; licences are also seized
Until last year, traffic constable Amit Kumar was a regular at riding pillion during bike chases of traffic offenders. Swift and alert during the chases, few violators could get away from him without coughing up a penalty. But the job involved risking his safety and that of others.
The last time he and a head constable were involved in a chase, they nearly escaped being hurt. “When the offending biker realised he was getting caught, he tried to ram our motorcycle sideways. We were forced to call off the chase,” recalls Amit.
“As soon as they realise that they are being chased, they begin zigzagging on the roads without caring for anyone’s safety,” he said.
This is just one among a host of factors that has forced the traffic police leadership to make a conscious effort to go slow with the chases. The focus now is to play smarter and safer. So, while chase and challan figures have dipped from 2,400 per day on an average in 2013 to just about 500 every day last year, the overall prosecutions have risen.
Traffic police figures show that compared to 34 lakh total challans issued in 2015, the number of prosecutions in 2016 jumped up by 18%. Till May this year, 26 lakh motorists have been booked, which is almost double of the same period in 2016.
“As soon as someone chooses to flee despite being flagged down, the traffic policemen alert the staff at the next junction, where they usually get caught. In case the motorist still escapes, a challan is sent to their home,” said a DCP with the traffic department.
Forget chasing, traffic cops say they are now wary of even trying to forcibly stop fleeing motorists. “We have a close shave with fleeing vehicles every few days just because the offenders choose not to stop despite our signal. Our colleagues have died in the past. So, we prefer to send challans at their homes,” says constable Amit.
Chasing speeding vehicles was always a risky affair, say experts. Maxwell Pereira, former top traffic cop, says chases are anyway not feasible in a city where maximum speed of vehicles during peak rush hours does not exceed 10 km/hr.
“Chasing and prosecuting traffic offenders should be limited to highways, not on the busy streets of the city,” said Pereira, adding the police must rely on cameras that can track offending vehicles’ registration numbers.
Pereira agrees that the initiative was effective in putting fear in the minds of traffic violators. “But it has to be abandoned because the dangers are not worth it,” Pereira adds.
But the risks are not limited to accidents. Often, traffic policemen say, the offenders choose narrow streets either to escape or to lure the chasing team to crowded and often ‘dangerous’ localities.
“Generally we avoid venturing into such localities, but once I chased a biker into Geeta Colony. The biker had gathered a group of men who threatened to attack me,” said a head constable. Such instances or violators entering into heated exchange over coughing up the challan amount are not uncommon, says Bhatnagar.
Traffic police’s new measures, such as seizing driving licenses, have added to the desperation among offending motorists.
Safety issues apart, a host of other factors like staff shortage, age of policemen, old and not well-maintained bikes and lack of training before they are tasked with the chases have added to the traffic police’s decision to reduce the chases.