HYDERABAD: Telangana is among the leading states in the country when it comes to imposing challans, with nearly 1.2 crore challans issued every year as per data. However, this popular form of correcting errant road users seems to be ineffective, as road accidents and fatalities continue to be on the rise.
Experts working on road safety measures of the State say that while there is enforcement is strong, other department’s like Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), transport and the judiciary must also tighten their grip on errant road users.
One of the critical issues, experts say is that though challans are issued, defaulters even default on the payment of challans. When drivers are caught during checks with a high number of uncleared or unpaid challans, the police charge sheets them. To subvert this, the accused drivers contest in court to compound the challans and get orders to reduce the fine amount to merely a few thousand rupees.
Several senior traffic police officials state that a strong deterrent, like cancellation of licence, is not being taken up. On record, the Cyberabad traffic police have sent thousands of driving licence cancellation requests to the local Road Transport Authority (RTA), however, transport officials have not acted on many of them. Tamil Nadu in comparison has cancelled nearly 1.5 lakh licences in 2018 of errant repeat road offenders.
“We need a convergence of several departments on major issues like drunk driving, driving without a licence and minor driving. Without it, fatalities cannot be managed effectively,” said a senior official from the
Killer Roads
Telangana is in need of urgent road safety reforms as the number of deaths from road accidents has increased for the second year in a row
Experts say this form of correcting errant drivers is ineffective unless there is a convergence of various departments police department.