Concerned over the rising number of accidents and the lack of discipline among road users, the Commissioner for Traffic and Road Safety has segregated the types of violations into two categories and directed the traffic heads to focus on the list of violations in category 1 .
In a circular issued recently, Seemanth Kumar Singh directed the traffic police heads to focus on 26 offences listed in category 1. Among them are drunk driving and rash and negligent driving on top of the list. Use of mobile phone while riding or driving, jumping traffic signals, performing stunts on the road, lane indiscipline, overtaking from the wrong side, riding on the footpath, riding without a helmet or driving without seat belt, carrying excess passengers in public transport or children in school buses, triple riding, parking on footpath or haphazard parking on roads and riding against one way are among the offences which need immediate attention, the Commissioner has said.
To bring order to the chaotic streets, the new strategy aims to shift focus the most severe violations.
The category-2 violations are less serious in nature, which include using high beam lights or glaring headlights, using shrill horns and defective silencers, carrying lengthy materials, footpath encroachments, riding or driving without permit, demanding excess fares, refusing to go on hire, using vehicle without display boards and using vehicle with defective number plates, using black films in the windows of the vehicle, driving of heavy vehicle during no entry timing and refusal to submit documents .
A senior police officer said although these measures are already in place, including conducting special drives on drink and drive, rash and negligent driving through enforcement cameras installed across the city clubbed with strict penalties for offenders and educational initiatives aimed at promoting responsible driving habits, rigorous enforcement of speed limits and monitoring accident-prone areas through surveillance cameras to deter reckless behaviour.
“Schools and companies are being targeted by jurisdictional police who are creating awareness to follow traffic rules and road discipline,” a senior police officer said.
“The circular focuses on the other cities and towns which have a different scenario, compared to Bengaluru city.
By and large, this has been done in city limits which has to be replicated across the state,” Mr. Seemanth Kumar Singh told The Hindu, adding that efforts are on to bring uniformity across the State.
“The approach is to reduce the number of accidents and ensure traffic discipline among the road users. Quality is the target approach rather than quantity in terms of numbers,” he said .
