Madurai city police have embarked on an ambitious task of their image makeover by deploying people friendly traffic constables to greet road users with a big smile instead of oft-complained frown.
“We want to have a better image for the city police through smart policing. Our constables will greet road users with big smiles. For, the smile will give a positive energy for all,” Commissioner of Police Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal said while addressing a programme held as part of Road Safety Week celebrations here on Tuesday.
Stating that road safety could be ensured in three ways — enforcement, education and engineering, he said that the focus would be now on education.
“We feel that imposing fine alone will not bring about a change of mindset among people. Our constables will tell the people that wearing helmets is for the safety of road users themselves and not for the police,” he said.
He said accidents will not necessarily cause injury only to the violator of traffic rules, but also to the family. A head injury could cost huge money for the family. A fatal accident could of a breadwinner can badly hit the entire family, he said. “Life is too precious to be lost on the road for not wearing helmets,” he said.
Ten constables have been selected for the smart traffic policing in the first phase.
“We find that most of the city residents take a regular route to reach their offices or commercial establishments. We want the traffic constables to strike a right cord with them to build a good relationship. Instead of shouting at those for not stopping on the stop lines, the constables will instead advise them,” he said.
The traffic constables will also surprise those abide to road rules with a chocolate, a hand-shake, a thumbs up or a flower. This will encourage others to follow suit.
The Commissioner released two short films on road safety rules — importance of wearing helmets and not stopping vehicles on zebra crossings. These CDs will be used to create safety awareness among people through cinema halls and cable televisions, he added.
Mr. Aggarwal said that he city police would continue work with other Government agencies in improving road engineering.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Arun Balagopalan, Assistant Commissioners of Police (Traffic), Joseph Nixson and T. Ravichandran, were present.
Earlier, the Commissioner flagged off a two-wheeler procession to highlight importance of helmet-wearing.
Regional Transport Officers S. Karuppasamy, Kalyanakumar and M. Suresh were present.
