Follow Traffic Rules or Lose Licence: Telangana Police Get Tough on Violations

Hyderabad: Aiming to reduce road accidents across Telangana, the state police department is preparing to take stringent action against traffic violators. Authorities are now moving to strictly enforce the ‘points system’, under which repeated violations can lead to the cancellation of a driver’s licence.

Though the system has been in place for some time, officials admitted that coordination issues between the police and transport departments had slowed its implementation. The departments now plan to strengthen technical coordination to ensure seamless data sharing and timely action.

Director General of Police (DGP) Shivadhar Reddy recently highlighted the alarming trend, noting that road accidents claim nearly ten times more lives than murders in the state. He has directed officials to take all necessary steps to curb accidents and enforce traffic discipline without compromise.

Officials identified violation of traffic rules as the main cause of most accidents. To address this, police plan to launch widespread awareness campaigns alongside strict enforcement. Despite frequent checks and challans, many offenders continue to evade penalties, prompting a decision to tighten enforcement.

Key violations under the points system include:

Overloading passengers beyond limits

Riding without a helmet

Driving uninsured vehicles

Carrying passengers in goods vehicles

Overspeeding or wrong-side driving

Mobile phone use while driving and signal jumping

Drunk driving (two-wheelers, four-wheelers, and public transport)

Illegal racing and chain snatching while driving

Licence cancellation rule:

If a driver accumulates 12 or more points within two years, their driving licence will be suspended for one year. Currently, police forward violation data to the transport department, which is supposed to automatically cancel licences crossing the threshold. However, delays in data exchange have hindered the process.

In the Hyderabad region alone, over one crore traffic violations are recorded annually. Yet, between January and July 2024, only 18,973 driving licences were cancelled. Authorities now plan to strictly implement the points system to ensure accountability and improve road safety across the state.