Mumbai: Cases of traffic rules violations on Holi were lower this year, compared to the previous two years. Police said this was a result of consistent enforcement of rules and stringent penal measures in the city over the past few years.
The Traffic Police said action was taken on Friday against 2,952 offenders for violating the Motor Vehicles Act. On Holi last year, this figure stood at 4,618 and at 8,102 in 2016.
Police said bandobast was put in place in the early hours of Friday, with 1,500 Traffic Police personnel and 700 traffic wardens being deployed across the city.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Amitesh Kumar said, “We intensified our action around 10.30 a.m. and kept it on till late night, taking action for riding riding two wheelers without helmet, riding triple seat, drunk driving, rash driving and other offences.”
In all, 1,342 two-wheeler drivers were penalised for not wearing a helmet, 186 for riding triple seat, 375 for drunk driving, 19 for rash driving and 1,030 for other traffic violations.
On the same day last year, 1,980 violators had been penalised for not wearing a helmet, 436 for riding triple seat, 317 for drunk driving and 31 for rash driving, while 1854 were penalised for other traffic rules violations.
More compliance
Mr. Kumar said, “This year, we observed that our sustained action against traffic rules violations through the year has led to people voluntarily complying with traffic rules. Last year, we recorded four fatal and nine serious accidents on Holi; this year, there was only one accident in the city, and no fatalities.”
He added, “Earlier, during our checks for drunk driving, 40% of the motorists screened would be under the influence of alcohol. This year, we found that only around 5% of those checked were inebriated.”
This year, the Traffic Police were aided by the CCTV camera network across the city in identifying and penalising traffic rules violators. Citizens have reported violations on Mumbai Police's Twitter page.
Also helping in keeping a check on violators are speed cameras, which have been in use since January and are equipped with Automated Number Plate Recognition software.
