Traffic offences in Mumbai rose by 50,000 in 2014

The traffic police collected Rs 22.59 crore from penalties for various traffic violations last year. The reason: The Mumbai traffic police conducted a series of special drives to ensure motorists follow traffic regulations in the last six months of the year.

Traffic offences in Mumbai rose by more than 50,000 cases in 2014 compared to the previous year.

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The traffic police also collected Rs 22.59 crore from penalties for various traffic violations last year. The reason for the significant rise: The Mumbai traffic police conducted a series of special drives to ensure motorists follow traffic regulations in the last six months of the year.

The result: 8,693 cases of rash driving were registered last year as compared with the 4,945 cases in 2013. Bikers riding without helmets were also given a lesson in safe riding. Over 2.88 lakh cases were registered in 2014 as compared with the 2.36 lakh in 2013, and a penalty of Rs 2.5 crore was collected.

“Almost 85% of the city’s bikers now wear helmets,” said Dr BK Upadhyay, joint commissioner police, traffic. “Our aim is to reach 100%,” he said.

To tackle the problem of drink driving in the city, the police conducted surprise checks on important routes, including Western Express Highway, SV Road and LBS Road. Among the steps taken to deal with the menace was the procurement of additional breathalysers. The police registered 16,013 cases of drink driving and collected Rs3.7 crore in penalties.