Road rage: Cops may book cases

Bengaluru: Motorists arguing with each other over petty issues right in the middle of the road and holding up traffic is a common sight in the city. This most commonly occurs when one vehicle grazes past the other leading to minor damages.

The city traffic police have now decided to act tough against those who create such nuisance and plans to book criminal cases against them. They want to deal with an iron hand against people who stop their vehicles abruptly in the middle of the road, causing hindrance to the traffic flow.

A senior police officer in the traffic department said, “We have been observing that many traffic jams in the city are caused because two vehicles may have brushed past each other and the drivers or riders stop their vehicles in the middle of the road and start arguing, and sometimes even indulge in fist fights. This troubles the fellow motorists and leads to jams. Sometimes it creates a spiralling effect on busy stretches leading to congestion in adjacent roads.”

 “The drivers do not even realise that they are causing obstruction and do not even bother to move their vehicles to the side. There are also instances when our traffic police constables try to intervene, but are threatened. This behaviour is unacceptable, as we do not want petty incidents like these affect the traffic flow,” the officer added.

The officer further mentioned that they are mooting to book criminal cases under such people for obstructing traffic flow.

In a recent incident on Old Madras Road, a traffic police constable, who did not want to be named, witnessed that a cab rear ended a two-wheeler and both the driver and rider got into an argument in the middle of the road.

“As they were arguing I left my signal manning duty and rushed to them and asked them to remove their vehicles, as it is obstructing the traffic and vehicles had already started piling up. But they threatened me to mind my business and asked me to leave the place,” said the constable.

“I immediately alerted the control room and policemen, who were on patrolling duty nearby. They rushed to the spot and made them remove their vehicles. This is a common scene in our city and is being witnessed on a daily basis. These motorists do not even use their common sense to realise that by indulging in such behaviour they are causing troubles to others,” he lamented. He said he favoured criminal cases against such people, as only then there will be a sense of fear among the motorists and they will think twice before stopping their vehicles in middle of the road.

Another officer mentioned that if there are such incidents, the motorists can call the control room for assistance and even park their vehicles by the roadside without obstructing the traffic and sort out the issue.

“But, people here do not understand. So we are planning to book offenders and take stringent action for causing chaos on the road,” the officer said.