Bengaluru

WHY DO THE TRAFFIC POLICE TURN OFF LIGHTS DURING RUSH HOURS?

Although it is not a good practice, but sometimes it is unavoidable due to insufficient capacity of junctions. There are situations where the road is not able to absorb the full volume of traffic and the tail of traffic ahead is not clear even until the next green phase. Now, if the lights are not turned off, vehicles will block the intersection and even prevent cross-traffic from moving, creating a gridlock. It's a loose situation for everyone. At this point, the police take over the signal manually and regulate it according to clearance and relative volume. However, this practice is largely reduced and will soon disappear due to the increased capacity of roads and junctions and the installation of adaptive signals. Extinction also becomes unavoidable during acts of nature such as waterlogging, cracks in the road and man-made situations such as strikes, rasta-roko and VIP movements, major accidents, driving off the road. a vehicle, when one or more roads become unavailable for traffic. In all these situations, manual operations are used. However, this practice is not encouraged.

SPOT FINE NOTICE

AMONG THE TRAFFIC OFFICERS, WHO IS AUTHORIZED TO GIVE A FINE NOTICE?

Traffic officers above and above the rank of Assistant Sub-Inspector are authorized to issue Challans or Traffic Violation Notices, which relate to one-time fines. Officers with the rank of Assistant Sub-Inspector or ASI (one star), Sub-Inspector or PSI (two stars), Inspector or PI (three stars) are authorized to levy one-time fines. Any officer below ASI, who are constables and police chiefs, can only note the nature of the violation and the vehicle number through a digital traffic violation report, and submit the information to the traffic police automation center. Opinions will then be issued by the Centre. The offender will have to pay the fine mentioned above. Traffic officers or police chiefs are not allowed to collect money because they do not carry personal digital assistant (PDA) receipt books. The motorist can file a complaint if an officer below the ASI rank collects a fine from him.

DON'T WANT TO PAY A SPOT FINE. WHAT'S THE OTHER OPTION?

If a violator refuses or is unwilling to pay a one-time fine, they would be required to surrender their original driver's license - for which the relevant officer would issue a receipt. He can go to the police station within a week, pay the fine and collect the DL or he can pay the fine in court or comply with court orders. If the motorist does not appear in court, a warrant will be issued and he will face arrest or harsher penalties.

IF YOU WITNESS AN ACCIDENT

IF I WITNESS AN ACCIDENT, WHAT SHOULD I DO? WILL I BE HARASSED BY POLICE FROM OTHER AUTHORITIES FOR TESTING REPEATEDLY AND SUMMONED AGAIN AND AGAIN TO THE POLICE STATION / COURT?

Please arrange for medical assistance and notify the police immediately. Write down the contact details of the accused and the vehicle before notifying the police. A Good Samaritan refers to someone who provides first aid in an emergency to an injured person. A bystander, witness or Good Samaritan who makes a phone call to inform the police or emergency services will not be compelled to reveal their identity over the phone or in person. Disclosure of Samaritan's personal information is optional in hospitals. He is exempt from criminal or civil liability for acts performed in good faith.

WHY DON'T TRAFFIC POLICE PENALIZE BMTC BUS DRIVERS FOR VIOLATIONS?

It is not true to say that BMTC buses are exempt from traffic law enforcement and only two-wheeler drivers are penalized. Firstly, against 60 lakhs two-wheelers, there are only 6000 BMTC buses and hence the application of two-wheelers is more visible due to the number. Statistically, while two-wheelers make up 73% of the total composition of vehicles, cases registered against two-wheelers represent only 41% of total cases. Secondly, the mode of penalization of buses is different from that of two-wheelers. For the traffic violations committed by the BMTC driver, it will be extremely unfair to cause 60 passengers to suffer by delaying them. Also, stopping a BMTC bus for even five minutes can create a huge traffic jam and chaos that will take hours to dissipate. Therefore, BMTC buses are not stopped on the roads and instead violations are noted and notices are sent to depot managers for collection of fines.

ARE THERE TARGETS?

DO THE TRAFFIC POLICE HAVE TARGETS FOR COLLECTING FINES?

Ideally, our target for collecting fines should be zero, because the ultimate goal is to ensure that no one violates traffic rules. We are neither a revenue-generating ministry nor does the amount collected correlate with the ministry's budget. The fine collected goes to the general revenue of the government. That strict enforcement resulted in over Rs 89 crore in 2019 is not a matter of pride for the department but a matter of shame and concern for all of us. We'll be happy to see a nice collection drop if people followed the rules. Unfortunately, traffic violations are commonplace, especially when the police are not present.

Why do police catch people jumping the signal? WHY CAN'T THEY STAND ON THE JUNCTION SO NOBODY JUMPS THE SIGNAL?

Everywhere in the world, when installing signals, the police are totally suppressed because people follow the signals themselves, even in the middle of the night. The scenario of our society is quite the opposite. Red means stop, if the policeman is there; red means nothing if the policeman is not there. It's a sad reflection on our value system. Ideally, we would like to withdraw these police officers from signalized intersections and redeploy them in other areas which are totally neglected. However, in the absence of self-regulation, this seems like a distant dream. Traffic police catch people for skipping signals. Motorists must follow the rules regardless of the presence and absence of police. In the absence of a lasting change in attitude, law enforcement is the only deterrent against indiscipline on the roads.

WHY ARE THE TRAFFIC POLICE WATCHING VEHICLES FOR EXCESSIVE SPEED EVEN WHEN THE ROAD IS GOOD AND EMPTY? WHY PUT A SPEED LIMIT?

Roads are not only for motorists but for all other road users, including pedestrians who must coexist. The empty road is not an unlimited speed permit because the driver cannot always anticipate the sudden entry of certain other road users. Roads are designed for a particular speed from a safety perspective. Driving responsibly is an essential part of defensive driving which must take into account the mistakes likely to be made by other road users. Most of our roads pass through residential and commercial areas where sudden intrusions cannot be ruled out. Speed ​​limits are essential for defensive driving.

NEED TRAFFIC SIGNALS

WHY DO WE NEED SIGNALS?

To avoid chaos and traffic jams, we must regulate traffic. Rotaries and road intersections are space-sharing devices where traffic from each direction merges, goes around the circle and weaves through. However, rotaries cannot operate when the PCU (a measure of vehicle density) exceeds 5,000. In addition, rotaries require better discipline and knowledge of the rules regarding the right of way on the part of road users. the road. Beyond 5,000 PCUs, we need signals that are time-sharing devices; allowing one traffic flow at a time to avoid merging, weaving and contention. However, beyond 10,000 CPUs, even the signals become unmanageable due to an abnormal increase in cycle time. We can still continue up to 12000 PCU by restricting some rotational movements. Beyond 12000 PCU a grade separator is mandatory. Grade dividers share space vertically and are the best solution for managing a junction with high UPCs. Signals are an essential part of traffic management in any city. It is neither feasible nor desirable to make a quality separator at every junction. Essentially, signals bring discipline. In addition, for pedestrians, these are the safest places to cross roads.

WHY DON'T WE HAVE NO SIGNAL TRAFFIC IN THE CITY?

With around 44,000 intersections in the city, and high vehicle density, non-stop traffic can only take place by providing level dividers. It may not be feasible, practical or even advisable to have a level divider at every junction due to money and space constraints. Therefore, signals are unavoidable. Also, for pedestrians, the signals are the only places to cross traffic safety. All cities in the world manage traffic using signals. The signaling system, however, can be made more efficient and logical.

WHY CANNOT SIGNALS CLEAR ALL TRAFFIC IN ONE CYCLE?

Worldwide, time cycle (filling the 4 directions) does not exceed 180 seconds. Due to excessive vehicle density, we have time cycles of up to 200 seconds. Technically, due to poor planning and the rapid increase in private vehicle ownership, there are more vehicles on the roads than they can handle. This has an impact on the timing of signals at road intersections. About 25 crossroads in town have time cycles even up to 250 seconds. This is not a healthy trend and our goal is to lower the upper limit to 200 seconds. If the time cycle is extended indefinitely to clear full traffic, it causes irritability in other directions. If all the piled-up traffic does not clear at once, it is in fact a problem of junction capacity, that is to say an inadequacy of the infrastructure and not of the signaling system.

THE ONE SENSE

WHY DO THE POLICE MAKE ONE WAYS?

One-way streets are made to overcome the limited width (paved lane) of the road and to avoid frequent stops for the right turn. For two-way traffic, each time traffic has to turn right, there is a need for a bifurcation, whether signaled or not. For each right turn, traffic must stop oncoming traffic. By making a path, not only is the problem of width eliminated, but also traffic can turn left and right without stopping. As a result, traffic continues to flow without stopping and traffic jams and bottlenecks are minimized.

WHY DON'T THE TRAFFIC POLICE SPEAK IN ENGLISH OR HINDI? I CAN'T FOLLOW KANNADA.

While traffic cops are trained to speak basic words in English as well as Hindi; let's not forget that their mother tongue as well as the official language is Kannada. They cannot be expected to converse in English, Hindi or any other language of law. However, they are trained in soft skills. On the contrary, if you have been a resident of Bengaluru for a long time, there is no harm in taking some kannada. Life will be much simpler!

WHY DO TRAFFIC POLICE REMOVE THE IGNITION KEY?

WHEN STOPPED FOR A TRAFFIC VIOLATION, WHY DO TRAFFIC POLICEMEN REMOVE THE IGNITION KEY?

This is not good practice and we do not endorse it. However, let's not forget that a large number of offenders attempt to flee when detained by traffic police; some even endanger the lives of police officers by trying to run over them. You are certainly not like them, but many others are.

HOW DO I KNOW I'M NOT OVERLOADED?

The fine for most offenses is Rs.500/-; for speeding and use of mobile phone is Rs.1000 & for drunk & Driving up to Rs.10,000/- (by court only). However, every agent has a PDA and if you insist on getting a proper receipt, there is no possibility that you will be overcharged. Insist on the PDA receipt.

BUS SHELTERS NEAR JUNCTIONS

Why don't the police move bus shelters away from intersections?

First of all, the installation or removal of bus shelters is not the responsibility of traffic police. Unfortunately, each of the bus shelters is a source of revenue through advertisements from the agency that installs them. But we have taken initiatives to move these bus shelters without much success. Whereas there is a complete consensus among the citizens as to the places where bus shelters should not be installed; there is no consensus on the place where it should be installed, because no inhabitant, no merchant, no establishment wants it in front of his establishment or his residence. Therefore, there is complete consensus on the problem but none on the solution. Additionally, Bengaluru has the distinction of having junctions so close together that it is often difficult to find locations for shelters that would be far from the junctions on both sides. We try hard not to let them make mistakes in the future. However, correcting the historical legacy seems difficult at present. But the buses even stop where there is no bus shelter, which is the start of all overflights as people stand there and wait. It is therefore not a question of shelters, of bus drivers but much more, that is to say of citizens.

HIT AND RUN

A DRIVER HITS AND DRIVES AWAY DAMAGES MY VEHICLE. HOW TO CLAIM INSURANCE?

In the event of minor damage and you wish to use your own insurance because you have not noted the number of another vehicle or do not wish to pursue it, visit the jurisdictional police station, request entry and an SHD acknowledgment and it will help you to claim insurance. If you want to file a claim with the other vehicle's insurance to pay for the repairs, get an FIR and once it's loaded, file a claim. But in this case, the number of the other vehicle must be known.

FREE LEFT TRANSFER

WHY IS NOT THE FREE LEFT PROVIDED AT ALL JUNCTIONS?

Providing or disallowing the free left depends on the width of the fusion and the amp; demerger roads; free left makes no sense if it is just a one or two lane road, as turning traffic will clash with oncoming traffic. Wherever there is adequate road width for merging or wherever channeling islands are provided, a free left may be granted. The free left also impinges on the right of pedestrians to cross the road safely. Therefore, wherever pedestrian crossings are intense, the free left cannot be ensured. The scenario is quite different in some advanced countries where the left is always free as the roads are four to five lanes wide in each direction and drivers show exemplary etiquette by stopping whenever pedestrians cross. If we had such labels on the roads, providing a free left would not have been difficult. However, this is not the scenario in reality. Hence, it is difficult to provide a free left on all roads in Bengaluru.

HOW TO KNOW IF THERE IS A FREE LEFT OR NOT?

There are two ways to look up road signs, saying "free left prohibited" which obviously means you can't take a free left turn. Second, watch the traffic lights. If there is a dedicated signal to turn left, you must wait for this signal to turn green and that means the free left is not available

TINTED GLASS

WHAT IS THE RULE FOR TINTED GLASSES?

Considering WP 265/2011 from Sri. Avishek Goenka, the Honorable Supreme Court banned the use of film noir in vehicles. As per CMV 100(2) rules' of front windshield and rear side glass, VLT (Vision Light Transmission) should be 70% while side window VLT should be 50% according to Indian Standards 2553: Part 2 – 1992. Violation of this Rule attracts property under Section 177 of the IMV Act 1988. However, tinted glass (i.e. integrated, i.e. no film glued black) with the above specifications is allowed. However, film noir of any kind is prohibited.