BENGALURU: The City Traffic Police Department has registered 1,06,952 cases of use of mobile phones while driving till October this year. Last year, the department had booked 1,28,370 cases.
“We have taken up several awareness programmes to ensure people do not use mobile phones while driving. We hope the number of such cases will be less this year,” said Additional Commissioner of Police, Traffic and Security B Dayananda.
He said the proposed revision of fine to be imposed under the ‘new transport and road safety act’ by the Union Ministry of Road Transport will act as a deterrent. At present Rs 100 is being collected as penalty. If the union Cabinet approves the new law and it gets the President’s assent, offenders will be levied a fine which is five times higher.
As part of its drive to create awareness about various road safety measures, Traffic Wardens will speak to students of schools and colleges about various acts and the implications of violating traffic rules.
Dr G Gururaj, Professor and Head of The Department, Department of Epidomology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), said the institute had conducted a study in 2011 which revealed that the use of mobile phone while driving may lead to accidents. “Even using a hands-free system while driving is dangerous as concentration on the road is taken off,” he added.