Soon, lane violations to invite hefty fine in city

Camera-based system to be placed on accident-prone arterial roads, Shubhendu Ray reports.

Jumping from one lane to another while driving will soon leave a big hole in your pocket.

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The traffic police are planning to slap lane violators with a hefty fine of Rs. 1000. The plan may be implemented within a few months.

After bringing down road deaths to around 1800 in 2012 — the lowest in past 10 years — through steep prosecution for drunk driving and speeding, the Delhi traffic police will focus on lane violators this year.

“We are working to put a high resolution camera-based system in place to capture photographs of lane violating vehicles along with their registration numbers,” said Satyendra Garg, joint commissioner of police (traffic).

A Delhi-based company, of which Delhi government is a stakeholder, will give a demonstration of the system on a two-km stretch near India Gate on Tilak Marg within a couple of weeks. “Immediately after this, we will invite tenders,” said Garg.

According to traffic officers, the camera-based system is likely to be placed on city’s accident-prone arterial roads within three to four months.

Garg said that the lane-owning agencies would be asked to prominently mark lanes so that vehicles do not jump from one lane to another while driving — a common practice among motorists that causes many fatal accidents.

“We will consider lane jumping as dangerous driving as this imperils others’ lives as well," Garg said. Fine for dangerous driving prescribed by Motor Vehicles Act is R1,000.

In September 2010, before the Commonwealth Games, the traffic police, through a notification by the Lt Governor's office, had imposed a hefty fine of 2,000 on motorists for straying into lanes marked for games' vehicles.

KK Kapila, chairman, International Road Federation (IRF), a Geneva-based agency that works on road safety issues, said: “The proposed system to restrict lane violation would significantly reduce congestion as well as accidents on roads.”