Be aware; don’t gift cops your hard-earned money

The traffic cops are again in the news, perhaps for a good reason this time to create a sense of awareness among people. Reportedly, there have been certain instances that are baffling to many citizens across Kalyan and Dombivli where owners of vehicles are blaming traffic cops charging them fines exceeding the normal limit.

Traffic cops, however, are singing a different tune. They’re blaming the citizens for not being aware of the fixed fines for various offences. This surely is a case of trust. For most, who want to believe the traffic cops, can really forget they’re indeed citizens of Mumbai, or perhaps on a soft corner, the traffic cops are indeed right about people caught unaware of the rates of fines imposed for offences. Citizens who are caught unaware of the exact fines actually are gifting a few additional bucks to the cops on duty, an opportunity well-seized according to top officials.

Rajeev Nair who hails from Dombivli had an experience to share where he was caught talking on his mobile while driving and promptly stopped by a traffic cop. As most of us, poor Nair wasn’t aware of the exact penalty for ‘cell-phoning while driving.’ He was asked to pay a hefty fine of Rs. 2000, which definitely doesn’t look like a modest fine.

Having felt something fishy with the fine imposed on him, Nair cross-questioned the cop and luckily was able to settle for a satisfying Rs. 500 than the ‘not-so-less’ Rs. 2000. Nair further researched about the actual fine to be paid for his offence, and to his disbelief, it was a shocking paltry Rs. 100. Now, Nair’s earlier negotiations saved him Rs. 1500, but thinking further, he could’ve easily saved Rs. 1900 if only he knew the real fines.

Nair says he didn’t want to get into a heated argument with the cops thereby creating a scene, so was happy to settle by paying a modest Rs. 500 than Rs. 2000 that was initially imposed by the cop on duty. Nair says he felt cheated, but was repenting that he wasn’t entirely aware of the fines thus allowing the window of opportunity to open for a decent 400 bucks pocketed by the cop.

You don’t walk alone, and these experiences are shared in common by many daily.

Some facts behind fines:

• Only the ranking of an Assistant SI permits fine collection from such offences and not through a constable at any given point.
• If in case drivers don’t have a PUC (Pollution Under Control) certificate, drivers could just walk off without paying any fines; however, drivers should have to surrender their licences to the officer in charge and obtain it back only after the PUC is produced.
• If drivers’ licences are expired, it’s still valid for a period of 30 days before renewing the licence.
• Fines for driving and talking on cell phones, jumping signals, and riders not wearing the helmets is Rs. 100 only.