Mobile technology to help increase conviction, say traffic cops

The technology has been in place since 2 months and maintains records of drunk driving cases. It comprises of a SMS service provided by the provider, wherein the traffic cop who hauls a drunk driver can SMS the license number of the car to a number and receive details about any previous conviction of the driver in cases of drunk driving.

Explaining the process, Solunkhe said, “When a traffic policeman stops a vehicle-driver for any traffic offence, all he needs to do is SMS the driver’s license number to a confidential short code, after which the policeman receives a prompt SMS in return. In a scenario where the driver is a repeat offender, the SMS reflects details such as an account of the earlier offences while driving, license and vehicle number, the date and location of the offence, and the type of offence the driver was booked for. Our officers can now trace previous records of traffic offences within a matter of few seconds.”

Police Inspector Dayanand Gavas from the Traffic Police said, “Once this new technology is upgraded, tackling traffic offences other than drunk driving shall be easier for us. Earlier, when our officials apprehended someone for drunk driving, they had to go back to their files to check whether the offender had been arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol on any previous occasion. Now with the mobile SMS technology, the same information can be availed of within a matter of seconds after sending the SMS to the code.”