TIRUCHY: CCTV monitoring of traffic violations has caught many people unawares as they park their two-wheelers in no-parking zones or ride without helmets. Police in the city send an SMS informing the offender of a violation having been committed. Police are also manually noting down numbers of vehicles at traffic signals for violations.
Due to social distancing norms, police are unable to physically stop two-wheeler riders who violate traffic rules. Believing they are scot-free as they have not been stopped by police, violators continue to move about without helmets or jump traffic lights.
To stop the increased traffic violations, police have decided to use advanced monitoring technology to identify and penalise ivolators. Major roads in the city have already been brought under CCTV coverage, a great help to police.
“Traffic police at signals nowadays cannot stop two-wheelers to impose spot fines for violations. The fact that 11 policemen from the city were infected with coronavirus has made the police more careful, so we are depending on CCTV recordings,” said a police officer.
A few days ago, constables at Srirangam were noting down numbers of vehicles parked in no-parking zones. When asked by vehicle owners why their numbers were being noted down, police told them they would be booked for violations. Some traffic rule violators in the city have recently been receiving SMS on their phones that inform them to pay a fine.
The SMS provides the date, time and location of the offence. A motorbike rider who received an SMS said, “I thought no policeman had seen me but I have received SMS twice for two traffic violations at different spots. Now, I have to pay a fine.”
R Vetharathinam, Deputy Commissioner (Crime and Traffic), Tiruchy city, told TNIE, “All traffic signals are being monitored through CCTV cameras from the control room. Owners are informed through SMS. They then have to pay the penalty online or in court.”