Over half of challans in Jan were for illegal parking, wrong-side driving

Gurgaon: Illegal parking and wrong-side driving have emerged as the major traffic offences in the city and attracted the most fines, the traffic challan data for January reveals. Out of over 26,000 challans, over 9,500 were for illegal parking on the roadside. Around 4,800 challans were issued against motorists who were driving on the wrong side.
Traffic police collected around Rs 1.3 crore as penalties for over 30 major traffic offences in January, officers said. Apart from wrong-side driving and illegal parking, driving without a helmet, driving old diesel autos and driving without seatbelts were the major offences that attracted the most fines. Moreover, around 151 motorists were pulled up for speeding.
“Illegal parking and wrong-side driving are a major challenge for us. The situation becomes difficult in places with diversions like Hero Honda Chowk. We have deployed enough staff and regularly challan errant motorists. Although we are noticing a slight drop in both the offences after hiked challan rates and regular crackdowns, disciplining motorists in this city is a tough task,” said a traffic police officer deputed on Sohna Road, who was visibly angry over residents parking their cars on roads illegally and shared autos driving wrong on the side.
“During snarls, we can’t even fine them as that will lead to more congestion. Our priority is to clear jams and they take advantage of this,” he added.
Traffic police claimed they will soon carry out a detailed mapping of all major intersections and a drone-based study of the key accident-prone spots in the city to understand real-time road behaviour.