Traffic violators must pay more: Delhi police chief
By IANSThursday, January 6, 2011
NEW DELHI - Citing the successful implementation of lane driving during Commonwealth Games this year, Delhi Police Commissioner B K Gupta stressed that traffic violators must be ready to pay more for violations to traffic laws.
“The violators just throw a Rs. 100 note at the policeman,” said Gupta adding that efforts were on to increase the amount of fines for traffic violators.
He noted that Delhi residents were still appreciative of the elaborate traffic management made during the Commonwealth Games. “They say why cannot it be implemented in these days… But, people should also be ready to pay more for fines. We are in discussions,” he said.
The commissioner stressed that there will be an intensive drive to nab the drunken drivers in the city to avoid the cases of road fatalities. A total of 10,161 people have been fined in 2010 for drunken driving out of which 580 people’s driving licences were suspended and 710 people were put behind bars for ten days.
The recent drive against drunken driving which started on Christmas eve is showing tremendous results.
According to Joint Commissioner (Traffic) Satyender Garg, while the average number of fatalities daily on city roads was four to five, it has come down to one to two ever since the driver was launched.
“We would continue with various drives against drunken driving, tinted glasses or beacon cars from time to time this year,” he said.
In 2010, cases of fatal accidents came down to 1,978 against 2,182 in 2009.
The traffic police is planning to install 1,687 cameras by March at major intersections in the city apart from 36 cameras to keep a track of speeding vehicles.
Gupta also said that the traffic police have strictly enforced restrictions on the plying of all categories of goods vehicles during notified hours on specified roads in the city and will continue to do so. Last year, 99,800 vehicles were booked for violating restriction timings against 82,748 in 2009.
Gupta promised that mobile patrolling will be increased this year and 25 percent of the traffic police strength will be deployed during night hours for regulation as accidents generally take place during these hours. “Senior police officers will conduct special night checking-cum-patrolling in various parts of the city to curb accidents,” he added.
