Police ‘no better' in following traffic rules

Law enforcers themselves have to cough up fines with Facebook page exposing traffic violations

Traffic police

If you think that the police can go scot free with their traffic violations, the recent developments may prove you wrong.

With vigilant citizens monitoring the brazen traffic violations by the law enforcers themselves and posting photos of police vehicles and the khaki-clad violating rules on Facebook, the Hyderabad Traffic Police had to launch a special drive against their colleagues.

Now hold your breath! The traffic wing has collected about Rs. 12 lakh towards penalties after registering 7,000 cases in last two months. Most of these violations pertained to wrong parking, jumping signals and even wrong number plates. And what more?

These penalty amounts had to be paid by the erring police drivers themselves and not by the department.

Spreading awareness

Acknowledging the impact generated by the Hyderabad Traffic Police's Facebook page, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) C.V. Anand said that the traffic situation in the city could be improved only with active citizen participation. The social media is playing a vital role in spreading this awareness, he said. “The idea behind the recent drive is to educate the citizens about the importance of following traffic rules. All motorists, irrespective of their profession, have to follow these rules,” he said.

Sense of pride

“A city can be judged by its traffic management, and it gives a certain pride to drive in a city where there is a smooth traffic flow. Adherence to traffic rules is a necessity to achieve this smooth flow,” Mr. Anand opined. “A visitor would be impressed by the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, but his good opinion about the city would soon turn into a bad one as he enters the city. What's crucial is citizen participation to maintain a better traffic,” he said.

The Hyderabad Traffic Police Facebook page has indeed become a hub of activity with citizens questioning various practices followed by the police and also highlighting various issues. The popularity of this page has gone up to such an extent that other government organisations like Hyderabad Metro water Supply and Sewerage Board are utilising it to advertise their own Facebook pages.