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Journalism of Courage
The Bengaluru City Traffic Police (BTP) has collected over Rs 72.49 lakh as fine within the first week since the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 has been implemented in the state. The new rules, under various provisions, came into force soon after the official notification on the same reached the police department on September 3 and was implemented from the next day.
While 1,968 riders were booked for not wearing a helmet, as many as 2,645 pillion riders were fined for the same during this period. Under the new law, offenders are required to pay Rs 1,000 each (both rider and pillion) for violating this rule. Meanwhile, Rs 7.08 lakh was collected as fine from four-wheelers for driving without wearing seatbelts.
Incidentally, using mobile phones while driving attracted a total fine amount of Rs 13.9 lakh till 10 am on Monday. At least Rs 2.12 lakh was collected from those violating the one-way rule.
Speaking to indianexpress.com, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) BR Ravikanthe Gowda said the enhancement in fines will help generate awareness and ensure citizens follow traffic rules. “This would encourage the public to be cautious while being on the road, especially those who frequently violate traffic rules.” He added that such thoughts among road users would make roads safer.
The BTP had collected over 98.27 lakh rupees during the first weeks of August 2019, which was a record-breaking collection as of then. This took place in the wake of the Karnataka transport department revising traffic fines, after publishing a gazette notification on June 25.
However, after the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, fines collected reached higher levels as over Rs 30.11 lakh was collected under 36 hours since its implementation on September 4.
Meanwhile, a two-wheeler rider in Bengaluru was fined Rs 17,000 on Wednesday for drunk driving, driving without license and helmet.
While he was initially caught for not wearing a helmet, ASI Shivanna of the Kumaraswamy Layout traffic police station later found the accused driving in an inebriated state. The officers used a breathalyser to find the violator’s alcohol level at 173 mg/dL, 30 mg/dL above the permissible limit.
The rider also failed to produce a driving license for which he was fined Rs 5,000 besides the Rs 10,000 and Rs 2,000 for drunken driving and for riding without helmets, respectively.
However, the implementation of the enhanced traffic fines has generated mixed reactions among the public.
“How can we make living in Bengaluru after paying all the tax, traffic (new) fine and spending hours on road. We deserve better to life. Don’t kill the golden goose,” a user wrote on Twitter posting a screenshot of a city map indicating slow vehicular movement.
Nitin Murali, a marketing professional said, “Several roads in Bengaluru have been in an appalling condition since a long time. While motorists are now heavily fined, it is the right of the same citizens to have roads in good conditions first to ensure law enforcement is done in a just manner.”
“There should be a reverse process wherein people can also hold authorities accountable for poor services provided,” another person tweeted.
https://twitter.com/praddyblr/status/1169573887501205505
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