Citizens’ forum moots screening safety videos at police station for habitual traffic violators

Panaji: A citizens’ body Goa Road Safety Forum, responding to the government’s call for suggestions to improve road usage, has recommended a system to discipline habitual offenders by making them watch safety videos and undergo other training.
Only parallel parking should be allowed and traffic police should be provided with collar cameras, the forum suggested.
Last month, the state government had called upon citizens to provide recommendations to make Goa’s roads safer.
The forum said that schemes like the traffic sentinel one should be reintroduced. This will be helpful as installing CCTVs and deployment of personnel at every corner is not possible, Dilip Naik of Goa Road Safety Forum said.
“Allow citizens to voluntarily report violations via email/social media with no monetary remuneration. Citizens should be able to specify time and location. A control centre should monitor the messages and dispatch ground staff instantly. This mechanism will introduce higher demand on the law enforcement agencies in the initial few weeks. However, over time, as people become aware of being watched, the violations will reduce,” the forum said, adding that such systems exist in several cities in India.
The body has said that angular parking should be prohibited as it takes up more space. “Parking should be made parallel in all cities, as far as possible. Though this reduces the space available for parking, it will compel citizens to either use two-wheelers or walk or use a bus.”
Habitual violators should be disciplined not by mere fines but with additional measures like making them watch road safety videos for two hours at the police station as per the SC committee on road safety.
“Vehicle should be confiscated for three months and the driver’s license suspended for six months. They should be made to pay fines by visiting a police station,” the forum said.
For the safety of the police personnel they should be provided with collar cameras funded from the revenue collected from traffic fines, as stated by the SC committee on road safety, the forum said.