Bengaluru: Bengalureans are becoming active in reporting traffic violations which in turn is helping the police to keep a check on motor vehicle offences. People are not only using social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to report violations, but also a mobile phone app.
The Public Eye, a mobile app, has played a vital role in booking offenders after the public have been posting violations on the app.
A senior police officer said, "It is a good sign that the public are making use of the app apart from social media platforms to report traffic violations and offences. This has also helped us book thousands of cases and penalise the violators."
He said, "We always ask people to install the app, click a photograph of the offence, ensure that the registration number of the vehicle is visible and upload it on the app. The rest of the job, from booking a violation to ensuring that the person pays the fine amount, is done by us. The citizens are making an effort to be responsible."
According to the statistics from the city traffic police, in 2015 around 20,326 cases were registered after complaints were received through the app. In 2016, 43,407 complaints were registered and in 2017, till November, around 35,000 cases. When the app was launched in 2012, only 557 cases were booked and now there is a big leap in the numbers.
The senior officer mentioned that the traffic police ensure that these cases are booked without any delay.
"Every traffic policeman on the street cannot keep tracking the violations due to high density of vehicles on the road. The app is helping us in keeping a check on the violators. It is also observed that the motorists who break rules assume that there is no traffic policeman around and go ahead, but they should be aware that people are watching and they might report the offence by using technology," added the officer.
Around three lakh people have downloaded the app and the app is constantly being upgraded. Discussions are on to include more features like safety and real time traffic updates, the officer said.
Mr R. Hithendra, additional commissioner of police (Traffic), said, "We want more people to install the app on their mobile phones and help in reporting violations. Reporting offences through the app is also a kind of regulating traffic. People should be more pro-active and help the traffic cops in maintaining traffic discipline."
Number of cases registered
In 2012 only 557 plaints were registered
In 2015 around 20,326 plaints were registered
In 2016 43,407 plaints were registered
In 2017, till November around 35,000 plaints were registered
