Gurgaon Traffic Police shows how to be super dads this Father’s Day

This Father’s Day, it was not traffic violators but dads who were stopped by the Gurgaon Traffic Police at two malls near the MG Road Metro Station. As part of their campaign, #BeTheToughFather, the Gurgaon Traffic Police in collaboration with Road Safety Organisation (RSO), asked Gurgaon fathers to be ‘super dads’ and follow traffic rules. At the entrance of the malls, when RSO volunteers stopped fathers and asked, ‘Are you a super dad?’, most of them laughed and said, “Not sure”. The volunteers then explained how they can be super dads just by following traffic rules.

Chal beta, selfie le le re !

The police officials conducting the drive told us that it’s quite a task dealing with errant drivers and those who take pride in breaking rules. So, they decided to start this campaign, and ask people to take a pledge in front of their kids to drive responsibly. A senior police official said, “Usually, commuters get into arguments with us about rules. However, today, when we asked them to take the pledge, everyone was polite. They not only took the pledge but also clicked selfies with our traffic constables. Even if some of them keep the pledge, our work will be easier.”
A traffic constable added, “Whenever we stop people on roads to either challan them or inform about rules, they always make excuses. It was for the first time that not even one person made a single excuse when stopped. Everyone clicked photos at the pledge booth.”

Gurgaon Traffic Police and volunteers from Road Safety Organisation

‘Aaj se mere bete ka gaadi chalana band’
Vikas Bishnoi, who works as a project manager in a consultancy company, said, “Last week, when a TI (Traffic Inspector) stopped me for jumping a traffic signal, I made an excuse that my daughter was getting late for school. After a lot of convincing, he allowed me to go. Today, when my 10-year-old daughter saw the cops, she said, ‘Let’s not go to this mall, they are here’. That’s when I realised that she should know about traffic cops, and I took her to meet them and signed the pledge board.”
After taking the pledge, many fathers said that they won’t allow their underage kids to drive their vehicles. AK Ojha, a businessman, said, “My 16-year-old son takes my bike to tuition classes. Today, I got to know that they are planning to arrest parents if an underage driver is caught. I took a pledge to not allow my son to drive and told him, ‘Ab tumhara gaadi le jana band’.”
Another dad, Mohd Asim, jokingly said, “My son is 15 and he was after my life to buy him a bike. He dragged me to the board to sign this road safety pledge. After signing it, I told him ‘Beta, ab toh bike tum 18 saal ke baad hi lena, kyunki hum dono ne kasam khayi hai’!”

People also clicked pictures with traffic constables