Gurugram traffic DCP wins award for positive policing campaign

“Drive Right Shine Bright” campaign rewards compliant motorists, shifting focus from penalties to awareness and voluntary adherence.

Deputy commissioner of police (Traffic), Gurugram, Rajesh Mohan, was awarded the Silver Medal at the 106th SKOCH Summit held at the Silver Oak Hall, India Habitat Centre, in recognition of his contributions to road safety and traffic management on Saturday.

Gurugram DCP Rajesh Mohan (extreme left)’s “Drive Right Shine Bright” rewards rule-abiding motorists, promoting voluntary compliance over challans. (HT)

The honour was conferred for his initiatives to improve traffic discipline, particularly the “Drive Right Shine Bright (Challan Nahi, Salaam Milega)” campaign, which officials described as a model of positive policing that encourages compliance through appreciation rather than enforcement. They said the initiative has helped shift public perception by rewarding responsible driving behaviour and promoting voluntary adherence to rules.

The SKOCH Award is given by the independent SKOCH Group to recognise people, institutions and projects contributing to India’s development.

During his address at the summit, Mohan said the campaign focuses on motivating motorists to follow traffic norms by recognising their efforts and building a culture of responsible driving. “The idea is to move beyond challans and build a system where people follow rules out of awareness and responsibility,” he said.

He also highlighted steps taken to improve road safety through technology integration, including enhancing visibility of speed limits on navigation platforms such as Google Maps and Mappls MapMyIndia to provide real-time information to drivers. Officials said these measures aim to prevent violations by increasing awareness rather than relying solely on penalties.

Launched on June 10 last year, the campaign identified 14 motorists “Traffic Heroes” for consistently adhering to rules.