Cabs may soon become eyes of Gurugram traffic police

GURUGRAM: Before you steer your vehicle to the wrong side to take that short cut to your home thinking no cop is watching you, stop. A cab parked on the side of the road may be recording your violation.

The Gurugram traffic police is planning to install cameras on tops of cabs and police vans to record violations and send challans, real time. Officers said the move was aimed at reducing dependency on constables to track violations and bring down chances of corruption. This will also reduce face-offs between violators and cops on the road and take pressure off constables to help them concentrate on managing traffic flow.

As part of a mechanism to help the city move smoothly, the police are also planning to involve local residents to take pictures of wrongly parked cars and send pictures through an app. The residents could also be rewarded for posting the pictures. “We are partnering with a company to make these cabs the eyes of the traffic police. This will ensure traffic violations like haphazard parking, wrong-side driving, lane and signal jumping etc are brought under control. Such violations will be recorded even if cops are not stationed at a particular place or where there are no traffic outposts,” a senior police officer said.

Shortage of personnel had long been a cause for concern in Gurugram. Officers have often said since constables are busy issuing challans, there are few left to manage traffic. There are also instances of violators picking up a fight with constables over fines. The new plan aims at putting a stop to all these factors.

The traffic police are also planning to inform violators about challans through a newly designed app or text messages. Delays on the part of the postal department and wrong addresses often meant that the challans either did not reach the violators or were late. As a result, even if challans were sent, as less as only 1% of the violators paid up. “We are trying to involve local residents for taking pictures of wrongly parked cars. Any type of violation can be reported on the newly designed app or on Twitter. The challan can be issued then. We are working on the traffic mechanism,” the officer said.

Police commissioner KK Rao said the project was in its nascent stage and would be strengthened in the future. “The initiative is in its preliminary stage. If applied properly, it can bring in a revolution in traffic management. All I can say is that the traffic system will be strengthened soon,” he said.