26k drive on wrong side, booked

Hyderabad: For tens of thousands of road users in the city, taking an illegal turn in the middle of the road and then driving on the wrong side of the carriageway, against the traffic flow — in effect taking a ‘shortcut’ to where they want to go on the other side of the road — has become routine despite the possibility of being caught by the police for violating traffic rules.

As many as 26,505 such violations — driving on the wrong side — have been recorded between January 1 and February 25 this year in the city. The Motor Vehicles Act lists as an offence driving on the wrong side under Section 119/177. The offence, according to the Hyderabad traffic police, attracts a fine of `200.

Driving on the wrong side of the road is dangerous both for the violator and for those following traffic rules and driving on the right side of the road.

In 2018, the number of people caught driving on the wrong side was 1,27,955, a figure that shot up the next year (2019) to 2,07,379. “We keep conducting traffic awareness programmes but the number of violators only seems to be growing,” an official said.

Last year, of the 2,493 people who were injured in road accidents, 271 died. Two-wheelers topped the type of vehicle most involved in accidents at 951, followed by cars (817) and three-wheelers (237), according to traffic police data. While seven persons died in accidents when driving on the wrong side of the road in 2018, this number for 2019 was five.

Cases of people driving on the wrong side, while common across the city, are said to be particularly high in some locations, such as near Gandhi Bhavan in Nampally, Sultan Bazaar, Afzalgunj, Old MLA Quarters, Kacheguda, and Abids. “We see a large number of two and three-wheelers taking a wrong turn to drive against the traffic flow,” a traffic policeman said. "The common response we get from those we catch is that the road dividers run for too long and that they prefer to take a quick turn to get to where they want to go, even if it means violating the rules.” But not every one of these areas requires drivers to cover long distances to reach a U-turn, the policeman added.

Incidentally, most wrong side driving incidents occurs at night near Punjagutta, Raj Bhavan, Clock Tower in Secunderabad.

Though as per the amended MV Act, the fine for driving on the wrong side is `1,100, the Telangana state is yet to implement the new provision and continues to levy a fine of just `200 for this violation.

“We are increasingly using CCTV camera footage to identify and catch such violations,” an official told Deccan Chronicle.