BENGALURU: Now, if you thought you could avoid traffic fines and move about freely in the city, the cops will still get you! The traffic police has embarked on a modernisation drive, which will incorporate a system that can capture the registration number of any vehicle on the road even at night, along with a list of violations and pending fine payments.
Within minutes, the traffic police at the next signal would then be able to apprehend the offender. It is common knowledge that there are hundreds of vehicles which are moving about freely, although there are fines against them.
Inaugurating an event about modernisation here, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai encouraged the traffic police department to modernise technologically. Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said the traffic fines due from vehicles in Bengaluru are in the range of a few hundred crores.
He said there are nearly 90 lakh registered vehicles, and at any given time, there are about 18-20 lakh vehicles on the road. He said the traffic fine enforcement system automatically identifies vehicles and the fine due in a fraction of a second. He said they are able to identify stolen vehicles too instantly, and said technology is a big game changer as far as traffic enforcement is concerned. He said over Rs 33 crore has gone into the modernisation drive.
Meanwhile, Bommai launched various technology-based services for smooth traffic movement. The CM launched facilities such as body cameras for traffic police, automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras, SMS challan systems on traffic rule violations, and My Maps apps. Jnanendra laid the foundation for a playground and inaugurated an updated gymnasium at City Armed Reserve (CAR) headquarters.