Mumbai traffic police issue 2.2 lakh e-challans in 1 month
Many citizens, however, denied having received notices even after flouting traffic rules.
Mumbai: The Mumbai traffic police has issued almost 2.25 lakh e-challans since December against people violating traffic rules, including for over-speeding, signal jumping and not wearing helmets.
E-challans are texted to the offenders on the mobile numbers mentioned on the vehicles’ registration numbers, according to Mumbai traffic police’s joint commissioner of police Milind Bharambe. Officials said there are almost 1 lakh cases of people driving without their seatbelts on.
Many citizens, however, told this newspaper that they haven’t received e-challans even after flouting traffic rules since their updated phone numbers are not registered with the Regional Transport Office (RTO).
While there are more than 28 lakh vehicles in the city, the police have updated details, including phone numbers, of 20 lakh licensed drivers. The traffic police is soon going to be updating its list of registered phone numbers so that action can be taken against every offender.
The e-challan system works using CCTV cameras that are used to crack down on traffic offenders. It does away with the need for a traffic constable at junctions, since there are 4,617 CCTV cameras anyway taking pictures of traffic offenders. The data procured from these cameras is used to identify traffic violators, among other things.
Mr Bharambe said, “We have filed 2.25 lakh cases in the past one month thanks to these CCTV cameras. The cameras have been placed in around 1,510 locations in the city. There are different types of cameras, such as pan, tilt and zoom ones. We get the images of the vehicles of the offenders, from which we can access the mobile phone numbers of the person in whose name the vehicle is registered, and our team then sends an e-challan asking the person to pay a fine online, while mentioning the link of the payment site.”
He also said: “The violations mainly include three people riding on a two-wheeler, or riding one without a helmet, talking on the phone while driving vehicles, violating signals, speeding, driving without seatbelts on and overstepping at zebra crossings. We are recording the numbers and names of repeat offenders, too, and after the third instance of a person violating traffic rules, we would ask the RTO to cancel his licence.”
Mr Bharambe added: “Because of this, the number of traffic violations is decreasing by the day, which is helping the traffic police monitor the roads in an efficient manner.”