The Gurgaon Police challaned 16,025 offenders during its third edition of Zero Tolerance Day on Thursday. The drive took place from 8 am to 6 pm in which the fines or challans were served as a part of an intensive traffic drive. The traffic police wing had deployed around 300 cops, which is 85 per cent of their total manpower to achieve the target of this drive.
The traffic cops were assisted by over 25 Road Safety Officers. Till August 2015, the city had recorded a total of 765 road accidents. There are 72 traffic offences which call for a challan under the Motors Vehicle Act, 1988, but cops were instructed to focus primarily on jumping signals, driving without seatbelts, breaking speed limits, using phone while driving, smoking, wrong parking and wrong lane driving.
The division of challans was — 4,312 in the East Zone, 4,964 in the West Zone, 3,265 in the Highway Zone and 1,468 in the South Zone (Sohna Road). Maximum number of challans were done for wrong parking (2,881 challans) and absence of number plates (511 challans). According to the police, on an average day the numbers of challans are in the range of 1,000-1,500. In the first (June) and the second (September) editions of the Zero Tolerance Day the city had recorded a total of 18,000 and 13,500 challans respectively.
Ajay Singh, a traffic constable posted at the HUDA City Centre Chowk said, “Most of the time, we see that it is the educated people who fight with us.”
There was a minor hitch midway when the cops ran out of receipts as all challan books were used up but fresh supplies were brought in soon and the drive went on. The constables and RSOs (Road Safety Officers) had a tough time making traffic offenders pay fines.
Prashant Yadav, a Road Safety Officer, said: “During the drive, many of the commuters who were riding pillion without wearing helmets or sitting next to the driver without wearing seat belts wanted us to show them the rule book. Some of them even asked us under what sections they were being challaned. Despite us telling them the sections, some of them were just not ready to budge. It was tough to make them pay the fine.”