GREEN SIGNAL
Jaywalkers rule the roads…..Nitasha Natu
During The Road Safety Fortnight,Traffic Cops Hauled Up 88,106 Motorists But Jaywalkers Were Given The Carte Blanche
Jaywalkers rule the roads…..Nitasha Natu
During The Road Safety Fortnight,Traffic Cops Hauled Up 88,106 Motorists But Jaywalkers Were Given The Carte Blanche
Mumbai: Almost every Mumbaikar is guilty of jaywalking,but the offence was not reflected in the Road Safety Fortnight campaign conducted by the traffic police.During the 15 days of the initiative,which concluded recently,the traffic police hauled up more than 88,000 motorists for offences that ranged from drunk driving to speeding.But no pedestrian was pulled up for jaywalking or asked to pay the mandatory Rs 100 fine.
Mumbaikars dodging vehicles and weaving their way through bumper-to-bumper traffic are a common sight,and according to motorists responsible for many accidents.Police officials admit that it is always more difficult to crack down on jaywalkers than motorists.Chartered accountant Sumeet Shah said: The focus of Road Safety Fortnight was motorists.The police were more intent on penalizing drivers,while pedestrians went unpunished.
The traffic polices scorecard during the drive that began on January 1 is impressive: 29,480 vehicles owners were fined for unauthorized parking;more than 13,500 motorists were caught jumping signals,6,793 for helmetless driving and 3,483 for not wearing seat belts.The police collected Rs 70.14 lakh by way of fines.
Though the police carry out antijaywalking drives,it was not included during the Road Safety Fortnight.Lack of manpower was the main reason.The Mumbai traffic police force is about 3,200 strong.To conduct a drive against jaywalkers,we need the assistance of the local police,but they are usually tied up in bandobast duties, said a senior traffic police official.We have limited manpowerand cannot allocate a separate team to monitor jaywalkers. Most citizens do not realize that jaywalking is an offence,said officials.We have to face the wrath of citizens when we pull them up for jaywalking.They even shout at us, he said.
Jaywalkers,as per the rules,are those pedestrians who refuse to use subways or bridges and insist on using the roads.But motorists say that even pedestrians who dont use pavements and cross roads when the green signal for vehicles is flashing should be fined.As part of the drive,the traffic police held 65 street plays to spread awareness on road rules.About 550 motorists were pulled up for driving under the influence of alcohol.The largest number of drunk drivers133 offenderswere between 26-30 years.Teenagers were the safest drivers and only one motorist between 18-20 years was caught for this offence, said an official.