Odd-even restores some order to Delhi roads.
Odd-even restores some order to Delhi roads.
New Delhi:
TNN
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Violations Down 30%, Number Of Accidents Cut Drastically
The stiff fine for defying the odd-even numberplate plan as well as the Supreme Court's stern directives on impounding driving licences for repeat on-road misbehaviour have not only led to smoother commutes on less crowded roads, but also a 30% dip in the number of traffic violations since January 1.Police officers say that the number of fatal and non-fatal accidents has decreased in the past five days, possibly due to stronger enforcement in the wake of the road rationing experiment. Other infringements like over-speeding and red-light violations have also shown a downward trend. At the usually gridlocked Ashram Chowk, for instance, the traffic police fined only five violators for ignoring traffic signals between 8am and 11am on Thursday when on most days they would be hauling up around 20 drivers.
“We have always emphasised the need to increase the traffic fines,“ said Muktesh Chander, special commissioner, traffic, Delhi Police. “A set of simple measures have led people to comply with the rules.“
When TOI visited the Ashram crossing between 12.30pm and 1pm, it found three traffic cops controlling a volume of around 10,000 vehicles without having to flag down a single car. “The pressure has been considerably reduced during the peak hours,“ agreed a police officer there. “Though the volume remains visually unchanged, the controlled movement of vehicles has reduced the possibility of a traffic jam.“
Similarly at Nehru Place, the police team handling the job of controlling the traffic had been pared down to two from four, though there were some civil defence volunteers assisting. Drivers are wary , and that translates into discipline on the road. As Vicky Dayal, a student who rides a motorcycle from home in Kalkaji to college in South Campus, said, “There is a sense of fear among violators. I will not skip a traffic signal or drive without a helmet because I am not sure under what offence I will be booked perhaps be fined Rs 2,000 or have my licence seized.“
At the Dhaula Kuan, police said that an estimated 1,40,000 vehicles normally passed by the crossing every day. Frequently , cars illegally parked by the roadsides created a bottleneck, and the resulting jam meant that a commuter took more than 15 minutes to reach Sardar Patel Marg from Delhi Cantonment. The police said that the enforcement of the odd-even scheme, complemented by the fear of tough prosecution, had reduced this travel time to just 7 minutes during the peak hours.
A senior traffic police officer said that the ultimate effort is to check all haphazard movement of cars on that stretch to make smoother traffic a permanent experience for commuters. For this reason, he said, “We have requested the civic bodies to put up road signage directing buses and other vehicles to follow lanes demarcated for them.“
for more details visit www.vayupure.com
“We have always emphasised the need to increase the traffic fines,“ said Muktesh Chander, special commissioner, traffic, Delhi Police. “A set of simple measures have led people to comply with the rules.“
When TOI visited the Ashram crossing between 12.30pm and 1pm, it found three traffic cops controlling a volume of around 10,000 vehicles without having to flag down a single car. “The pressure has been considerably reduced during the peak hours,“ agreed a police officer there. “Though the volume remains visually unchanged, the controlled movement of vehicles has reduced the possibility of a traffic jam.“
Similarly at Nehru Place, the police team handling the job of controlling the traffic had been pared down to two from four, though there were some civil defence volunteers assisting. Drivers are wary , and that translates into discipline on the road. As Vicky Dayal, a student who rides a motorcycle from home in Kalkaji to college in South Campus, said, “There is a sense of fear among violators. I will not skip a traffic signal or drive without a helmet because I am not sure under what offence I will be booked perhaps be fined Rs 2,000 or have my licence seized.“
At the Dhaula Kuan, police said that an estimated 1,40,000 vehicles normally passed by the crossing every day. Frequently , cars illegally parked by the roadsides created a bottleneck, and the resulting jam meant that a commuter took more than 15 minutes to reach Sardar Patel Marg from Delhi Cantonment. The police said that the enforcement of the odd-even scheme, complemented by the fear of tough prosecution, had reduced this travel time to just 7 minutes during the peak hours.
A senior traffic police officer said that the ultimate effort is to check all haphazard movement of cars on that stretch to make smoother traffic a permanent experience for commuters. For this reason, he said, “We have requested the civic bodies to put up road signage directing buses and other vehicles to follow lanes demarcated for them.“
for more details visit www.vayupure.com
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