BENGALURU: While the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority (KSLSA) has proposed an extension of 50% discount on traffic fines, mobility experts and activists have opposed it. They argue that the discount scheme is in complete contradiction to the sole purpose for which the fines were levied. They argue that traffic law violation leads to injuries and fatalities and these time-to-time discounts will encourage violations putting vulnerable road users at risk.
“Traffic fines are levied so that it acts as a deterrent against people violating them and putting their own life and others in danger. The core purpose is not to generate revenue for the government. By offering such discounts, you are diluting the deterrent and defeating the very core purpose of traffic law enforcement,” said Ashish Verma, Mobility expert from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).
“Instead of ensuring ‘access to justice for all’ by offering such discounts, are we not on the contrary denying justice to vulnerable road users and putting them at more risk and vulnerability in future?” he questioned.
“Traffic violations, many of which often lead to road accident-related injuries and fatalities of vulnerable road users- pedestrians, cyclists, and two-wheeler users, who are often also from low-income families and young age groups. By offering discounts, we are giving a message to the masses that you are encouraged to violate traffic laws because you will not have to pay heavy fines any more as we will offer discounts from time-to-time,” he said.
It is not a pro-people measure but is actually an anti-people measure, Ashish Verma said. Instead of giving a rebate, if possible the government should be hiking the fine, opined Sandeep Anirudhan, founder, Citizens’ Agenda for Bengaluru. “Given the state of lawlessness in Bengaluru, it is necessary to penalise more, rather than give relief by rebate. We can see people driving blatantly in the wrong direction, violating signals and parking signs, parking on footpaths, shaded windows, even police beacons are being mounted on cars,” he added.
He added that it has reached a stage where there is just no fear of the law. “The government needs to do better enforcement and ensure there is fear of law instead of offering discount melas to those who anyways are not following the laws and endangering other people’s lives, he said. KSLSA’s extension of the rebate is awaiting the state government’s nod.