Visakhapatnam: Motorists care a hoot for signals

Visakhapatnam: Road users in Vizag continue to jump red signals despite the presence of traffic police at all major junctions in the city. The city sees over 500 incidents of signal jumping everyday. The traffic police has been issuing e-challans to motorists caught by CCTV cameras jumping red-signals. The offenders, however, dodge the fines of e-challans. Hyderabad-based private firm Stanpower has erected modern traffic signal lights and PTZ cameras (CCTV cameras) at 47 major traffic junctions in the city with a Command Control Centre (CCC) at the police commisionerate.

The city traffic police has been monitoring the vehicular traffic from the CCS and fishing out violators using the CCTV  footage. Despite the best efforts of the administration to stop rash and negligent driving through counselling as well as imposing fines, between 500 and 1,000 motorists are found to be violating traffic rules by jumping the red signal at various junctions on NH-16 stretch in the city everyday, said ADCP (Traffic) K.M. Patrudu. With motorists refusing to stop before the white line or at the red light, pedestrians and other motorists seem to be the worst hit, he added.  

A senior traffic police inspector said that at most of the signals, motorists do not stop even after the signal changes to red. Their continuing to move leads to crashes with vehicles from other sides moving after receiving the green signals. “The minimum fine for signal jumping is Rs 100. After monitoring the CCTV footages at various junctions, we fish out the red-signal jumping violators and issue traffic e-challans. But, most of the violators do not pay the fines for e-challans,” said Mr Patrudu.