In car without helmet? You will get challan!
The city traffic police had to cut a sorry figure after a wrong notice was slapped against city motorist P. Moses on March 28.
BENGALURU: ‘Oops’ moments don’t seem to end for Bengaluru commuters as the traffic police continue to issue bizarre challans for traffic violations. After helmets were made mandatory for two-wheeler pillion riders, several car drivers have reportedly received challans for not wearing helmets when they were behind the wheels. Also, several two-wheeler users have been fined for not wearing seatbelts while riding their vehicles!
The city traffic police had to cut a sorry figure after a wrong notice was slapped against city motorist P. Moses on March 28. In a complaint posted on the official Facebook page, Mr Moses alleged that the he received the challan dated February 25, 2016 which read that the pillion rider was without a helmet at Hunase Mana Circle on Magadi Road around 8.20 am. Incidentally, the challan mentioned that the rider was in a vehicle bearing the registration number, KA04 MH-4560, which is Mr Moses’ car.
“It can only happen in Bengaluru. I was travelling on my bike but the traffic cops on Magadi Road raised a challan on my car which has the registration number – KA04 MH 4560,” he said.
According to the data procured from the Bengaluru traffic police department, 80 such cases of wrong challans have been reported in the city in the last four months. DCP (West) S. Girish told Deccan Chronicle, “The department is looking into the issue and we are trying to clear the confusion. We urge motorists to approach us on social media platforms, like Facebook and Twitter, and their complaints will be resolved promptly.”
Where does the fault lie?
While scores of city motorists are raising their concern over mindless penalising by the Bengaluru traffic police, senior police officers said that mistakes are being committed 'at the ground level.
“When a vehicle is spotted by a traffic constable parked at a no-parking zone or a rider is found riding without helmet, a FTVR (field traffic violation report) is raised immediately by the policeman on duty. Every violation has a prefixed code attached to it. For helmetless riding, the code is 14, while for not wearing seat belt the code is 40. As every day, over 12,000 to 14,000 such violations are being raised by the men on the field, a wrong code gets punched by mistake. Due to the heavy influx of traffic and raising notices, there is no time for them to crosscheck the notices. Once the FTVR is raised a comprehensive data gets updated in the automation centre at TMC, following which the challans are issued,” said a senior police officer.
He said that such mistakes happen unintentionally as policemen are working under tremendous amount of pressure. “We appeal to the motorists, who have been issued such challans, to raise the issue on our social media sites, and we will address them immediately,” he said.
Challan faux pas
January 22: 48-year-old Jagannath was fined for not wearing the seatbelt, though he doesn’t own a car. The penalty slip mentioned the registration number, KA01 W- 9368, which belongs to a car. Mr Jaganatha owns a Honda Activa scooter.
February 28: The High Grounds Traffic police issued a notice to BJP spokesperson Prakash S. The challan read that his pillion rider was not wearing a helmet, while Prakash was driving a car.
March 9: Ministry of Defence spokesman M.S. Patil was sent a notice for Rs 100 fine for not wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle. But, Mr Patil doesn't ride a two-wheeler, but a car (a silver Matiz) which was grounded over a year ago.