Cops at a loss to collect Rs 934 cr in traffic penalties

Bengaluru: Although traffic violation cases in the city are increasing every year, collection of fines has become a major headache for the police. So far, in about 1.50 crore cases, a total of Rs 934 crore is pending to be collected. After the end of the elections, the traffic department police are preparing to crack down on motorists who have not paid fines.

In Bangalore, 1.9 crore vehicles are on the road every day, and managing the traffic has become a challenge for the police. Amidst all this, the traffic police department has failed to collect fines in traffic violation cases, and the fact that there is still arrears of Rs 934 crores to collect fines shows the failure of the traffic police. Realizing this, the court had recently allowed half the fine to be paid. However, most of the motorists are reluctant to pay the fine. In that case, a total fine of around Rs 130 crore was collected. Soon after the election, the police have again kept an eye on motorists on many roads in the city.

The traffic department police, which has taken the outstanding fine collection seriously, has prepared to use a new tool for fine collection. Dr M A Saleem, Special Commissioner of Police, Traffic Division, said that this working method will be revealed in a few days.

Penalty on renewal of insurance

The traffic department police have already held a meeting and discussed this with the insurance company. Accordingly, every year when going for insurance, NOC should be obtained from the traffic police. It is contemplated to collect fines related to traffic rule violations when the owners of vehicles with yellow number plates and white number plates go to insure their vehicles. Technical preparations are underway to prevent renewal of insurance for vehicles that have not received NOC.

The police department has turned to advanced technology to detect traffic violations. Accordingly, cameras with artificial intelligence and machine learning technology have been installed at major junctions in the city. An e-challan will be sent to the vehicle owner’s mobile via SMS when traffic rules are violated. 260 automatic number plate capture cameras with artificial intelligence technology, red light violation detection cameras have been installed at important junctions in the city. It will work 24 hours a day. A penalty notice will also come along with the video within 5 seconds. Fine can be paid through QR code on mobile.

30,000 violations per day

More than 30,000 traffic violation cases are registered in Bangalore every day. In 2022-23, 8.2 lakh private cars and two-wheelers were newly added in Bangalore. In the last 3 months, 10,50,958 cases of traveling without wearing a helmet were recorded, 2,08,303 cases of not wearing safety belts, 2,91,899 wrong parking cases, and 2,32,626 cases of signal jumping were recorded. Bangalore Traffic Police, Special Commissioner, Dr M A Saleem said, “The traffic department has come up with a new strategy to collect fines related to traffic violations. It will be implemented soon.