[sammyboy]

Originally Posted by kartikkumar

So, technically you're quite happy to continue being in violation of the law by bribing every cop that stops you, which is perpetuation of corruption. Hmmm...Is it just me or does anyone else find this incredible? C'mon man, you want the system to change, then you've got to do your bit don't you think? Wearing your act of bribery as a badge of honour and disguising it as a "saving" is hardly a matter of pride.

Yes, I am ashamed of myself that I bribed the cop. I usually dont make mistakes to be stuck in situations where I need to bribe my way through. In all my interactions requiring bribes I would have paid them 20% of the times so if my work gets done without bribing during the rest of the 80% I am happy.

I am sure you have never paid bribe and its really wonderful that you have been able to manage that, I am unfortunately a little weak in this area and have learnt through the hard way that there are times when you cant get away without going with the flow.

I do my bit where I can, like stopping for people crossing roads, helping people in need when others just drive by.
I was at fault here so would have had to pay the chalan anyways, btw, i forgot to mention but I did get a receipt (for no PUC certificate) so its not a bribe technically

[yzfrj]

Originally Posted by kartikkumar

So, technically you're quite happy to continue being in violation of the law by bribing every cop that stops you, which is perpetuation of corruption. Hmmm...Is it just me or does anyone else find this incredible? C'mon man, you want the system to change, then you've got to do your bit don't you think? Wearing your act of bribery as a badge of honour and disguising it as a "saving" is hardly a matter of pride.

Agreed (I'd say 99.0%)
A cop stops me at a signal,

Reason : It was green and I had all the right in the world to go. A government transport bus jumped the red light, so I naturally accelerated (I was in the middle of the junction), If I had braked the bus would definitely hit me. Cops states I jumped the signal.

Asks for all the papers I have everything (big surprise for cop).
He asks for NOC (as car is KL and city is Chennai).
Told the cop I don't need NOC for driving from state to state and told I can show the toll booth tickets.

He demands 1500 for "dangerous" driving.
Asks for my license again (its a card license which is in my purse).
He calmly takes the money from my purse (I always carry very little cash)
260/- and leaves the Rs. 1 note I have in the purse.

Do you think this is right ?
I filed a complaint which did't see the light of day.

That is fair ?
Most cops I've seen are not really cops.
They just want to make money, so its better to loose money and be on you way than loose time+money.

This is purely my personal view and based on the experience I've had with cops especially in Chennai.

[SamuraiJack]

What constitutes a "No Parking"- if a driver is in the car will it still be considered a voilation? I'm not saying right next to the "No Parking" sign but way off? If a car is waiting outside the gate of a house with the driver inside is it a voilation? A cop came up to me the other day as I was parked in front of a house gate (engine running) and asked me to pay up 100 bucks as I was parked in front of a house.. there was no "No Parking" sign or anywhere near, the cops explanation "idu rajkiya paksha mane- avaru phone madi complaint madi dare" "the house belongs to a politician- he called and complained"

[DileepKS]

^^^You better pay up and leave, otherwise the next call the poojya rajkiya paksha makes would be to his hitman.

No, it is not "Parking" of there is someone in the driver seat. It is "Stopping".

I wouldn't mess with the police, or even try to embarass him. He can mount charges and even arrest me.

[spadival]

This is nothing compared to the fines here :(.. My cousin was fined $120 for not parking his car facing the direction of travel !! That too right outside the house, well off the kerb on the gravel.

There was a news report on a city in US where people who parked their vehicles inside their home's driveways were fined just because their driveway isn't paved (i.e gravel)!! Motorists fined for parking in their own driveways | Metro.co.uk

[webjunk]

Some of you here say its not feasible to argue with Police. I beg to differ. It's psychological game. Don't have the fear in your mind/heart in the first place. Other wise no matter how you talk, it will be detected by other guy. If you know you've not made a mistake, I say argue with forceful (not shouting) voice. It really works.

My own experience: Got caught in Noida -UP without original papers. Cop saw my karnataka license and confiscated it. (He let off local guys without license but not me. Regionalism kicked in, I'm sure)

Wrote a challan without any section number. (His mistake) Said go to station and pay about 1K. Next day, I took the printout of all sections and fine amounts to station and well!, the SI is not ready to concede. He started arguing about the fines list printed on the back of his challans. It was an incomplete one. I said his interpretation is wrong. I barged into Inspector's cabin and complained. Poor fellow immediately opened the NIC website (They are given a laptop and USB wireless internet connection. Surprise, surprise!) and confirmed the fine amount as 100 for not producing originals.

Now the SI's EGO is hurt big times. He was not ready to give receipt even for that 100/- I demanded and made him write it. I almost burst laughing while he was writing receipt. LOL'd once I came out of the station. Public around were really confused. (How could anyone coming out of Police station laughing)

That was almost a sadistic pleasure I must say!
But otherwise, I really feel pity about their work life balance (if there is one - And that's a topic for another post)

Suresh.

[aqualeo2040]

Well. Most of us, at one time or other have paid the fines and collected the challans.
Now, have we really carefully read the challans?

It seems like a decent scam is run by the police folks.
The challan books are revised every month and the cops are ideally supposed to submit the books back at the end of month for audit purposes.
Now, instead of that they keep the books. When they fine someone, they use these books. So, eventhough, you pay the fine and get a challan, the money never reaches the coffers. So, next time, check the dates on the challans (i guess there's something mentioned there).

Another way of the cops is to not use the copy of the original challans.i.e. When issuing a ticket, the cop is ideally supposed to put a carbon paper between the user copy and the govt copy.All the govt copies are supposed to be surrendered for the actual collection at the end of the month.However, our great cops hate the usage of carbon papers.Hence, he writes his fairy-tale on the user copy, hands it over to the motorist, collects the fine and pockets the money!!
So, next time, make sure they use the carbon paper when they cut you a challan

And please guys.. no bribing

[kartikkumar]

Originally Posted by sammyboy

Yes, I am ashamed of myself that I bribed the cop. I usually dont make mistakes to be stuck in situations where I need to bribe my way through. In all my interactions requiring bribes I would have paid them 20% of the times so if my work gets done without bribing during the rest of the 80% I am happy.

I am sure you have never paid bribe and its really wonderful that you have been able to manage that, I am unfortunately a little weak in this area and have learnt through the hard way that there are times when you cant get away without going with the flow.

Ah...that's where I will 'fess up and say I have. But that was a long time ago until I realized that paying my dues for a violation and getting a receipt nips corruption.

Originally Posted by sammyboy

I do my bit where I can, like stopping for people crossing roads, helping people in need when others just drive by.

You have my respect mate. We could all take a leaf out of your book.

Originally Posted by sammyboy

I was at fault here so would have had to pay the chalan anyways, btw, i forgot to mention but I did get a receipt (for no PUC certificate) so its not a bribe technically

Forgetting to highlight important facts like that my friend...tch tch tch!

[Heman]

Just out of curiosity, I wanted to know what one has to do when you are stopped by a policeman for violating a traffic rule and you know you are on the wrong side.

Most of the times when we are caught in Mumbai, the first thing the policeman asks is our license and then he refuses to give it to you back inspite of us giving the fine. His explanation is that he has the authority to only give a challan which we need to show it to the nearest police station to get our licenses back. Is that right?

[sammyboy]

Originally Posted by kartikkumar

Ah...that's where I will 'fess up and say I have. But that was a long time ago until I realized that paying my dues for a violation and getting a receipt nips corruption.

well we all live and we learn dont we?

Originally Posted by kartikkumar

Forgetting to highlight important facts like that my friend...tch tch tch!

Well, I am pretty sure it isnt genuine as well. I was at fault especially for the PUC, shouldnt have been so careless. I completely agree to your point that bribing like this only tends to increase corruption, well maybe not increase but doesnt do much to stop it.

@aqualeo - Thanks man, guess I was a party to what you just mentioned, cos I am pretty sure the reciept he gave me was a fake as he didnt have a carbon and I didnt bother at that moment, it hit me once i read ur post. I didnt bother to keep it and tossed it in the bin when I reached office. Should have scanned it and posted it so that others could see what fakes look like.

[rohan_iitr]

i feel there is a way to teach these corrupt traffic cops a lesson.

people associated with the media (especially television news channels) should conduct sting operations on these corrupt cops who stop motorists randomly and demand bribe from them. the reporter should happily pay the bribe and record the whole incident on a hidden camera.

if 4-5 such sting operations are conducted and aired on national television, no cop would dare to stop motorists randomly in the future. also, it could make a great story to increase the TRP of that channel.

the best place to start such sting operations would be the sony world junction in koramangala, bangalore, where the bribe collecting traffic cops have been creating a nuisance since the past 2-3 months.

i wonder why nobody in the media came up with this idea till now. may be, they are too busy conducting sting operations on film producers demanding casting couch favours from the aspirants.

rohan
bangalore

[air870]

i got stopped on Dr E Moses Rd a week ago at a nakabandhi/ breathanalyser. 5 constables, 2 RTOs, 2 bolero s. the constable spoke very politely while trying to gauge if i was under the influence.passed on that count but got slammed for my aftermarket exhaust. ended up paying rs 500 to retrieve my license from traffic HQ a few days later. what is the permitted DB level permissible?. nothing was mentioned on the challan. i personally did not want to challenge the challan as under scrutiny other mods on my car would have compounded my problems.

[rohan_iitr]

hi all,

a similar article has been pulished in today's (29/06/09) times of india newspaper on the front page !!!

i will definitely keep photo copies of this TOI article along with my car and bike papers and present it to the traffic police along with the vehicle documents whenever they catch me "just to check the papers".

it would also be handy to have the phone number of Mr Praveen Sood (Additional Commissioner for Traffic, Bangalore) - 22942276, in case the arrogant traffic cops still don't let you go without a bribe.

i am an easy target for the traffic cops in bangalore because my bike has a M.P. registration number (although i have paid the karnataka road tax). that's why i almost stopped using my bike after i purchased my car. (another reason might be that i don't feel like riding the bike after experiencing the comfort of a driving a car)

but after this article being published in the times of india, which is one of the most circulated newspapers in bangalore, i look forward to riding my bike / driving my car in bangalore without being afraid of some corrupt traffic cops pulling me over to "just check the papers".

rohan,
bangalore

[McLaren Rulez]

As I was reading this thread I was wondering about this question. What constitutes rash driving? Can any cop stop you and fine you for rash driving? Surely there needs to be a criteria like breaking speed limit or changing lanes abruptly or something solid right?

[rohan_iitr]

Yesterday, I was walking near HDFC bank koramangala (which is one of the favourite spots for traffic police to randomly stop motorists, especially vehicles with out of town registration numbers).

When I am on foot, I generally stop near these traffic police infested areas to observe their modus operandi. When on a bike or car, I generally avoid these areas even if it means taking a longer route and waste extra time and fuel.

So yesterday I saw a traffic police trying to stop a bike randomly in the middle of the road. By now, most people who commute on this road know that this is the place to watch out for bribe collecting policemen. This bike rider was very alert. The moment he saw the traffic police move towards the centre of the road and trying to stop him (he was hardly 20 metres away), he simply stopped his bike instantly, turned around immediately (took a U-turn from his left side) and rode back on the wrong side of the road. It all happened within seconds, I couldn't stop laughing at the traffic police.

It was getting dark, hence the traffic police could not take down the number of the bike and so I think that he is safe.

Points to note - the bike rider was wearing a helmet, he did not break any traffic rule or signal, he was not driving rash. He was being made to stop randomly by the corrupt traffic police to make some quick money.

I felt like applauding the bike rider for his quick response and avoiding the police. But then I thought that he could perform this dangerous stunt in the middle of the road during rush hour only because he was lucky that here was no vehicle coming from behind. The guy didn't check his rear view mirrors before turning, he simply stopped abruptly and turned around.

The point I am trying to make is that the commuters are so fed up of these bribe collecting traffic police that they are willing to risk their life and limb to avoid being caught by them and having to pay bribes unnecessarily.

And this is the situation even after Mr Praveen Sood (Additional Commissioner for Traffic, Bangalore) has instructed Bangalore traffic police not to stop motorists randomly for checking documents. One sub-inspector was suspended a few months back for the same reason.

This can only mean one of the three things -
1. Mr Praveen Sood is also a part of this bribe collecting racket
2. Mr Praveen Sood is totally ignorant of how corrupt his team is
3. Mr Praveen Sood's orders have no value, traffic police can fearlessly ignore them

In any case, I would say that this person does not deserve to be in his position. He should step down and give chance to someone who is more capable and less corrupt.

Senior police officials always mention that Bangalore traffic police has a shortage of manpower. I say there is no shortage. Instead of hiding behind the bushes and collecting bribes from innocent motorists, if the traffic police actually spend some time in managing the traffic, the traffic situation would be much better in the city.

Is there no way to stop this menace ?

Is there nobody in this forum who has the right contacts who can bring this matter to the notice of the public and the authorities.

These bribe collecting traffic police are easy targets for the media which is always looking for juicy stories. Why not click a few snaps and ask a question to Mr Praveen Sood - What happened to your promise ?

Rohan,
Bangalore