E-Paper
No-entry, wrong side driving make up 20% of traffic violations in Pune
Two-wheeler riders riding on the wrong side of roads and into one-way, no-entry zones forms a major chunk of traffic offences recorded by the traffic police, followed by riders not wearing helmets and jumping signals at important junctions across the city
Two-wheeler riders riding on the wrong side of roads and into one-way, no-entry zones forms a major chunk of traffic offences recorded by the traffic police, followed by riders not wearing helmets and jumping signals at important junctions across the city. Two-wheeler riders riding into no-entry zones and riding on the wrong side of roads constitutes 20% of the total 9.96 lakh actions (offences) recorded by the traffic branch officials. The data assumes significance after a two-wheeler rider riding on the wrong side of the road collided with a car at Talegaon Dabhade on Sunday and suffered injuries, while in a separate incident on August 17, five persons died when a container vehicle driving on the wrong side of the road rammed into a car on the Pune-Ahmednagar highway.
Deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Rahul Srirame said that most no-entry violators caught by the traffic police abuse and behave rudely with the police. “The percentage of such type of offences has gone up considerably this year as compared to last year. We are taking strict action in this regard,” he said. Last Thursday, an irate female rider of a two-wheeler fined for riding into a no-entry zone beat up the concerned traffic constable and threatened to lodge a molestation complaint against him if he took legal action against her. The police have filed an FIR against the woman named Shrushti Yashwant Raut and her pillion rider, Sasikala Ashok Raut, both residents of Shivajinagar. The incident took place at Tilak chowk near Alka theatre on Thursday evening.
As per data shared by the Pune traffic branch, as many as 9.96 lakh vehicle users were fined between January 1 and August 7 and a total of Rs40.31 crore in traffic dues remains to be recovered from the violators. As many as 7.23 lakh traffic violators failed to pay fines. However, during the corresponding period last year, the traffic police fined 7 lakh persons out of which, 5 lakh persons did not pay fines while a total Rs30 crore was recovered in fines. Meanwhile, the traffic police have appealed to citizens to promptly pay the fines against their name failing which, they will be prosecuted by the court. According to the traffic police, a total 49,586 such cases have been sent to the court for final action.
“It is mandatory for violators to pay the fine in 15 days. If they don’t, we will send their cases to the court for further action. Also, citizens are requested to follow traffic rules and ensure that they don’t break the rules at any cost,” Srirame said.
Ignoring e-challans upon receiving them is one of the major reasons for non-recovery of penalty. Many citizens tend to ignore e-challan messages and also avoid paying fines which leads to the amount of fine increasing day by day. Also, many vehicles are linked online to mobile numbers which may be different from the mobile numbers currently in use. The traffic police have also found some people to be driving vehicles with fake number plates. When these vehicles violate rules, e-challans are sent to the mobile numbers of the original owners and the penalty continues to remain unpaid. Also, many people do not update their mobile numbers registered with the RTO after selling their vehicles resulting in old vehicle owners being fined, the police said. After a vehicle is seized by the police, it is inspected for fines. However in such cases, there is no option but to pay the fine/s. Hence, it is important to keep track of how many (and how much in) fines are imposed on any particular vehicle. Also if the e-challan is paid immediately upon receipt, the penalty amount does not accumulate, the police said.
