Dangerous drivers double this year

If prosecution statistics from the traffic police are any indication, there has been an exponential increase in the number of prosecutions for visible violations, reports Nivedita Khandekar.

If prosecution statistics from the traffic police are any indication, there has been an exponential increase in the number of prosecutions for visible violations.

HT Image

In numbers

Traffic Violation

2007

2008 (Nov 30)

Red Light Jumping

2,76,80

65,08,085

Minor Driving

2,91

4,107

Improper Parking

1,80,482

3,16,496

Dangerous Driving

69,103

1,25,603

Drunken Driving

3,634

7,301

Over Speeding

1,55,694

1,76,097

For instance, as against 69,103 prosecutions for dangerous driving in 2007, as many as 1,25,603 people were challaned in 2008 till November 30.

“Dangerous driving or speeding or for that matter, red light jumping can lead to fatal accidents,” pointed out a senior traffic officer.

Another trend on the rise in the national capital is that of minor driving. The prosecution saw a jump from 2,911 in 2007 to 4,107 this year till November 30.

“We conduct road safety awareness activities in schools. Just like the awareness for crackers vis-à-vis noise and air pollution, we hope students grow up with better traffic sense,” said traffic police chief S.N. Shrivastava.

Another focus area for traffic police was drunken driving wherein as many as 7,301 persons were prosecuted this year, against 3,634 last year.

A whopping 5,08,085 persons were fined for jumping red light as against 2,76,806 in 2007, records show. “The emphasis on visible violation has brought about a quality improvement in prosecution,” acceded Shrivastava and added, “there has been an increase of 68 per cent in these (visible prosecutions) challans.”

Midway in the year, the Supreme Court stayed a Delhi High Court order, which put additional Rs 500 per challan. There were apprehensions all around about people taking it lightly. But the statistics shows there were a total of 24,75,000 challans till November 30 as against 22,00,000 approximately last year.