AHMEDABAD: As traffic police have swung into action, strictly enforcing traffic rules and penalizing defaulters, it has been revealed that over half of the people caught violating the norms do not known where to stop at traffic signals.
According to the e-challan figures issued by the city traffic police department, of 20,391 cases of traffic violations registered between April 15 and July 29, the highest — 16,792 — were for crossing the stopline. The citizens had to pay Rs 18.52 lakh for crossing the line. The amount is nearly 50% of the total fine of Rs 37.52 lakh collected between April and July.
Police officials said that a special drive was held to make the people aware about the stopline for two days on July 17 and July 18 but still many people do not follow this basic rule.
A stopline is a type of marking used to inform the drivers of the point where they are required to stop at a crossroads or a roundabout. Usually, people drive till the zebra crossing which is marked for the pedestrians to cross the road, said a police official.
Akshayraj, DCP, traffic, said that the police have been issuing around 3,500 e-challans every day for the past four days.
“Most of the people, especially in western part of the city, are not aware where to stop their vehicles at a traffic signal. In the
eastern parts of the city, situation is comparatively better with most of the people stopping their cars at the marked line before zebra crossing which is meant for the pedestrians only,” said Akshayraj. “We will soon start issuing around 10,000 e-challans in a day. We will keep a close watch on the drivers who intrude into the BRTS lanes besides those who cross the speed limit, for which we will install speed guns at several places,” added Akshayraj.
