The Hindu : Front Page : MP gets a challan from ‘no-nonsense’ Inspector

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Thursday, Feb 21, 2008
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MP gets a challan from ‘no-nonsense’ Inspector

Marri Ramu

HYDERABAD: Next time a policemen intercepts you for any traffic violation, don’t take out money to pay fine. Instead, you could help the policeman regulate the traffic!

Saifabad Traffic Police Station Inspector A.V. Srinivas has come out with such a novel plan to tackle the traffic violations. The Inspector, on Wednesday, made more than 50 drivers who crossed the stop-line at the Ravindra Bharathi traffic signal post, to stand at the junction and educate other commuters on the need to follow traffic rules.

Initially, the Inspector’s suggestion to the erring drivers to take up the motivational talk rather than pay the fine did not jell with them. While a few appeared enthusiastic, others felt it was “embarrassing” to educate other violators in public.

But even sceptics among them fell in line realising the Inspector meant business when he didn’t flinch in halting the vehicle of Secunderabad MP Anjan Kumar Yadav for travelling on the wrong route at the junction. Mr. Srinivas minced no words while informing the MP that his driver was at fault and therefore, a challan would be sent to his home.

That was a cue to all the 50-odd erring drivers to stand at different points of the intersection and start educating drivers to stop at the line. Of course, there was some confusion for sometime when the civilians took over the traffic regulation but it was soon sorted out. “They lacked experience and hence it was difficult for them to control the huge traffic flow and we intervened immediately,” said Mr. Srinivas.

“I thought making them talk to other commuters on halting at the stop-line would have a better impact rather than asking them to pay the fine,” he said. But do the police have power to subject erring drivers to such “punishment”? “It is not a punishment but education. Even the Delhi traffic police had adopted such methods to educate commuters,” he explained.

Taxpayers’ money

He pointed out that every single paisa spent on road markings was taxpayers’ money and by crossing the stop-line, commuters were wasting precious public money.

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