BENGALURU: In Bengaluru, 123 vehicles have pending traffic fines of over Rs 1 lakh each. The Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) listed 2,858 vehicles, each with fines of over Rs 50,000 for violations in the last five years.
These also include three vehicles that have pending fines of over Rs 2 lakh. The highest penalty for a two-wheeler is a whopping Rs 2.91 lakh for 475 violations.
The total fine amount is Rs 19,54,16,400 from 3,71,416 cases. Of the 2,858 vehicles, 2,742 are two-wheelers, totalling 3,61,294 cases, followed by 100 cars with 8,603 violations, along with vans, school buses, and others.
The majority of violations among two-wheeler riders were for not wearing headgear, pillion not wearing helmet, jumping traffic signals and displaying defective number plates.
A total of 3,12,727 cases were booked against riders and pillion riders not wearing helmets. In cars, the highest violations were for not wearing the seat belt, using mobile phones while driving and stopping on the zebra crossing.
Drive on to fine violators: Officer
The Traffic Management Centre captured 1,61,861 traffic violations, while the Banaswadi traffic police registered the highest of 13,439 cases at the station level, followed by Banashankari, Pulikeshinagar and Magadi Road traffic police.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) MN Anucheth said they have started a drive to collect the fines from these violators. The police are visiting the houses of the violators and asking them to pay up. “If they fail to pay even after this, a chargesheet will be filed in the court, and a summons will be issued to the offenders. No discounts are given to violators,” he added. He said among the 2,859 offenders, around 350 paid a partial fine amount.
Mobility expert Prof Ashish Verma opined, “All these people with significant fine amounts are habitual offenders. Police should take strict action against them and not wait for so many violations. The moment a violator reaches a certain threshold, enforcement of law and penal action should automatically occur and escalate.
Based on the number of violations people commit, the level of penalisation should increase. Offenders often argue that the fine amount is not worth their bike, but they have accumulated such fines because they have violated laws repeatedly and have been caught and booked many times.
I think the message has to be very clear that nobody should take traffic laws for granted. If the police department enforces strict action, there will not be so many violations.” The police should cancel the licences of offenders if they don’t follow traffic laws, causing road safety risks, accidents or traffic congestion, he added.