Traffic violations in city rose by 25% last year

Traffic violations in the city increased by about 25% last year with the police registering 63,81,548 cases compared to 50,95,478 cases in 2020 and 49,38,485 cases in 2019

Traffic violations in the city increased by about 25% last year with the police registering 63,81,548 cases compared to 50,95,478 cases in 2020 and 49,38,485 cases in 2019. This significant rise in violations in 2021 is despite a partial lockdown in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Data released by the Mumbai police in their annual crime conference on Tuesday showed that last year, 6,63,285 cases were registered against motorists for driving into “no entry” areas and 3,42,329 motorists were booked for jumping signal.

In the city with over 36 lakh vehicles of which close to 60% are two-wheelers, the police in 2021 booked 8,06,472 motorists for riding without a helmet and 95,160 car owners for driving without a seat belt.

Raj Tilak Roshan, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), said, “Despite creating awareness, we registered maximum number of cases against two-wheeler riders for not wearing helmets last year.”

The increase in violations is also because the traffic department ensured stricter action compared to 2020 or 2019, Roshan said. The rise in traffic cases is proportional to the increase in vehicles on the road, the officer added.

Traffic police officials said after a steep hike in charges for compounding traffic violations, there has been a marginal decline in such cases. “The amendment came into force in December 2021, but our observation is that the violations have come down minimally,” Roshan said.

Traffic experts, however, said the rise in violations could be attributed to the enforcement of rules in 2020 and 2021 as there were fewer vehicles on the road compared to 2019 and years before that. Then the traffic police would need more time for regulating traffic.

Dhaval Ashar, senior manager with Integrated Transport Team at World Resources Institute, said infrastructure needs to be designed in such a way that the traffic is self-regulated, and the police can keep the violations in check.

“A case in point is Bharatmata junction in F-South ward where we would see four-five police personnel regulating traffic earlier. We suggested an island that eliminated the bottleneck - which was the root cause of traffic snarls and a safety hazard. Since the implementation of the island and some other simple measures, the traffic is self-regulated,” Ashar said.

Mumbai police commissioner Hemant Nagrale said at the conference that increased action by the traffic police has also resulted in a drop in accidents over the years. He said 1,187 fewer accidents occurred in 2021 compared to 2016.

In all, 2,192 accidents were reported in 2021 and 316 people lost their lives in 307 of those mishaps. In 2020, owing to the lockdown, 1,872 accidents were recorded in the city, including 337 fatal ones which led to the death of 349 people. The number was as high as 3,379 accidents in 2016, including 529 fatal ones in which 562 people died.

“The accidents and fatalities are gradually decreasing every year,” Nagrale said.

The police have also started cracking down on drivers who are deliberately removing or erasing the number plates of their vehicles to escape e-challans. Officials said at least 100 such cases are registered daily.

“To escape CCTV cameras while committing a violation many drivers remove or erase the number plates,” said Satyanarayan Chowdhary, additional commissioner of police (traffic).

When asked how they are booked, DCP Roshan said they have started catching such drivers physically. “We also check whether the driver was earlier issued a challan for the same offence, or has another pending challan.”

The traffic data also revealed that of the 29 lakh pending challans, unpaid challans amount to ₹314 crore. The department in 2021 collected fines of ₹56.16 crore through 20,53,453 challans.