The Karaikal district police have launched a novel initiative to engage community participation to track incidents of traffic rules violations and activated a dedicated WhatsApp number to report such offences.
The 161-sq km Karaikal enclave under the administration of the Union Territory of Puducherry has a population of over 2.5 lakh. The town also lies on the busy East Coast Road connecting Chennai and Nagapattinam.
Though there is no sharp increase in the number of fatal accidents, particularly in the arterial roads of the district, the enclave continues to witness traffic rules violations such as commuting without proper driving licences, not wearing a helmet, tripling and signal violations, driving in a rash and negligent manner and using mobile phones while driving, that lead to non-fatal accidents.
Senior Superintendent of Police Manish told The Hindu to aid the police in tracking traffic rules violations, the Karaikal police have initiated community policing in which members of the public can alert the police by sending pictures or videos of traffic offenders through WhatsApp (94892 05307).
Upon receiving the alert, the police will verify the genuinity of the information and take action against the offenders by generating a traffic violation challan. The automated system will send the penalty details to the registered mobile number of the vehicle owner. The Union Territory police will reward the whistleblowers with certificates of appreciation, he added.
He said this initiative is likely to reduce traffic rules violations. The police have been working with other departments to rectify engineering errors along the identified blackspots on various roads in the district.
Mr. Manish added that the Karaikal district police have been considering the possibilities of installing Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras, particularly along the border areas with Mayiladuthurai and Nagapattinam districts, under the Smart Cities Mission.
