Rise in police booking for rash driving and speeding has decreased fatal accidents
Picture for representational purpose
Chennai: The city police seem to have woken up from deep slumber in a move to restrict traffic violations and ensure road discipline among motorists and vehicle-users. According to statistics provided by the city traffic police, the number of offenders booked for speeding and rash driving on city roads has increased by 60 per cent and 140 per cent respectively this year, a move that certainly made the coffers of the state swell.
This is happening when most of the arterial roads in the city like Anna Salai, Poonamallee high road have space crunch due to CMRL works and the constant addition of vehicles to city roads.The traffic police have booked 1,02,611 cases of over speeding this year, compared to 62,713 in 2013. In the case of rash driving, the figures are 15,373 and 6,508 respectively, according to statistics.
On the sudden surge in traffic enforcement measures, a senior official said the ultimate goal was what mattered. The increase in police booking for rash driving and speeding had resulted in a drop in fatal accidents, he argued. “We believe that all these violations have an effect on road safety and result in accidents which, at times, turn fatal. So far, our assessment has been right,” a senior police official said.
Compared to the 1,341 deaths in 2013, the city roads have consumed around 750 lives this year until October, according to the statistics. With only two months to see the year off, the effect on fatal accidents due to strict enforcement was more than visible, according to the official.“When we observe that accidents happen on a particular stretch, we start booking people for speeding. A group of policemen standing with their speed guns on stretches such as Rajiv Gandhi Salai, East Coast Road is a common sight.”
However, road-users also cry foul at some tactics of the traffic cops. S. Karthik, a software engineer who uses the Rajiv Gandhi Salai to reach his office at Siruseri, said police hide behind trees and suddenly intercept motorists. “They say the speed limit is 50 km/hr. But, on an almost empty road, why would someone drive at economy speed?” the software professional asked.
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