A little over a week into start of this initiative, the traffic police have observed a major reduction in such offences in the field.
Bangalore Traffic Police in action
Think twice before you decide to cut into a one-way and make it to your destination in Bengaluru.
That’s because the Bengaluru traffic police might not only penalise you for violating such traffic rules but also send a notification of the offence directly to your company!
The rationale appears to be that the offence has come to the knowledge of the company, which means workplace colleagues and managers are now aware of the traffic violation.
This, the cops feel, could work as a deterrent to people breaking traffic rules. The move is not meant to embarrass people but to create awareness, said the cops. They said the Bengaluru Traffic Police only want people not to repeat those traffic offences.
And it is apparently already showing some positive results in the pilot phase.
The Bengaluru Traffic Police’s East Division Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Kuldeep Kumar Jain told South First that this unique initiative was started after traffic policemen — especially on duty in the tech corridors of East Bengaluru — stumbled upon educated motorists cutting across one-way roads and travelling on the wrong way to save time.
“Some of them think that they are over-smart, and commit the offence to outsmart the system when we are trying our best to decongest traffic in the city,” he explained.
“We got in touch with some associations who recommended this tactic of informing the company about the employee’s traffic violation so that they do not repeat it,” the DCP told South First.
The Bengaluru Traffic Police observed that one-way traffic offences were being blatantly committed in Mahadevapura, Whitefield, and Outer Ring Road (ORR) traffic jurisdictions, where many one-ways have been implemented to streamline traffic movement.
Hence, the traffic police thought it prudent to start this initiative as a pilot project at the Mahadevapura traffic jurisdiction.
The traffic police personnel who encountered such violations not only fined the offenders but also collected basic details, like their identification and employment, and then informed their company about their traffic violations.
As of now, this initiative is limited to the east traffic police division. And the traffic cops say they have observed a significant reduction in violations of one-way traffic along the routes.
As a result, the police are contemplating extending this initiative to not only other such traffic offences like jumping signals, riding triples, riding without a helmet, reckless riding, and speeding but also to other traffic jurisdictions where there are more techie traffic and violations, said sources.
“We started this drive on a pilot basis in the East division of Bengaluru. If any IT employee is caught violating traffic rules, information about the specific violation is sent to their respective companies through email or WhatsApp,” said DCP Jain.
“This is just to make them more aware and conscious of traffic rules and road safety while riding,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the traffic police have also suggested that tech companies organise awareness campaigns about road safety and traffic rules in their firms or invite the police for a session on traffic rules.
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