The day-by-day increasing number of traffic CCTV cameras keeps vigil on the traffic violators – be it the case of red light jumping, line crossing, etc. and promptly sends SMS messages on the registered mobile phones of any such defaulting drivers. But this trend seems to be applicable only for owners of private vehicles. Are the drivers of Cluster buses of a private organization named ‘Delhi Transit’ (popularly called Orange buses) running in collaboration with Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and Red and Green low floor buses owned by the Government under DTC , army vehicles/bikes, NDMC/MCD vehicles, etc. exempted from such Challan?
Often it is seen that the rash-driving cluster buses are carelessly jumping the red lights even during peak hours with least consideration for the heavy traffic or follow traffic regulations and with even more least considerations to the deadly accident it creates. This scenario is witnessed in many of the busy traffic signals when such cluster buses pay least attention particularly when the traffic signals are already changed from amber to red lights. Those drivers do not care about the fact that amber lights are meant to make one alert to stop the vehicle before the signals become finally red. Instead they take the amber light as equal to green signal and thereby not stopping their big vehicle even when the signal is red.
A system can be evolved by which the drivers of such Government vehicles/public transport are penalized by way of not exempting them from issuance of challan and making recovery from their respective salary/wages and also educate them regarding the purpose of amber lights in between green and red signal, if they are not aware of the same. Newspaper reports abound about such rash driving resulting in casualties and recently there were death reports of a three persons from public including a 12-years old child losing life due to reckless driving by one of the cluster buses in Delhi. Such instances of accidents are day-in-and-day-out happening in many of the crossings across Dwarka, where the traffic is increasing by leaps and bounds. The cases are more, particularly, during wee hours when the traffic signals are ignored seeing the empty roads and added to such cases of accidents owing to heavy fog or rather, what we call, smog.
Since the Traffic CCTV cameras are state of the art technology and very smart in noting down the registration number of the vehicle and consequent prompt generating of challan but it seems only the private vehicles are being penalized and the municipal and such local bodies vehicles are exempted and which increases to the rate of such accidents happening. The system of issuing challan may be adopted for drivers of such vehicles also as it could easily be found from the timing as to which driver was driving a particular vehicle from the roster and defaulted in such a way and thereby inculcate a discipline among such reckless drivers.
Traffic rules need to be necessary and compulsorily followed by one and all equally and drivers of state-run, municipal and other local bodies’ vehicles cannot be an exemption to such traffic rules.
