[indianvirus]

This happened to us last year.

We were in Mumbai with some work. We were 6 (4 + 2) people in our honda city and passing nearby mahalaxmi. That's when a traffic police rider followed us and asked us to pull over. We were charged for carrying extra passenger and fine was Rs. 2000. If unable to pay, he threatened us to confiscate my licence and the car. Unaware of rules, we payed the fine reluctantly and asked for receipt. He replied we will have to go to chowky for that. We were unable to do so since we were short on time, so he offered to get us the receipt at the point of violation within half an hour. We agreed. As expected, he never came back.

We became curious regarding whole accident so next day we asked another traffic police regarding such rule, upon our surprise, we were told that such rule is only for taxis and not for private cars. We were asked to report the incident to certain chowky. We did that, went to chowky, met the incharge and explained everything. We were really surprised how chowky incharge handled the situation. He asked us to come back next day, he called every rider who was on duty that day for identification. We went there on next day, were asked to identify the rider from a group. We identified the culprit, upon which he refused to know us. The incharge gave him good dosage in the language I cannot write here. He accepted his fault, and apologized, even chowky incharge apologized to us and returned our money. We even got the extra money we spent on on taxi, after the incident.

The rider did not get any punishment, but it was treat to watch him after all this. He was about to cry. We were told he was the best rider of his chowky, lost is rep in front of his senior. We were satisfied.

[Sahil]

Good job indianvirus or rather anti-virus!!

[mohandasnikhil]

So was driving to my head office in Central Mumbai with a couple of colleagues seated in the front and me in the back, when my colleague who was driving gets a call and instinctively answers it. (Definitely not something I vouch for). As luck would have it, a Traffic cop spots him and pulls him over. The usual grind is set to begin, when I, in the back seat start off my mobile video camera. The cop comes in and starts off the banter. My colleague tries to reason with him, accepting his mistake but asking to be let off. The moronic cop goes off on some random conversation and talk, not in any way referring to the offence or the punishment. There is talk about a 'fine' which my colleague figures to be a bribe and offers him Rs. 100/-. All the while I'm filming the entire conversation seated on the back seat without the knowledge of my colleague and/or the cop. The only problem is that I wasn't getting the face of the cop because of the camera angle. Finally the exchange happens (I know paying a bribe is a crime, but in the entire convo the cop hasn't stated what the offence is or what the official fine is. After the exchange I stick my phone to the window of the car to get a view of the cop's face, and he also bends to look into the rear seat of the car, and his face is captured completely in the video clip. The cop realises i'm filming and panics. I turn off the camera. He is completely flustered and almost throws the money back into my colleagues hands, who now offers to pay the official fine. But the cop is now extremely worried and tries to get rid of us as soon as possible and tells us to please drive away without any penalty. The video is extremely funny mainly because of the amount of random stuff the cop is talking through it and his reaction just after he sees the camera. I can't share the video obviously because my colleague is also committing an offence by paying a bribe. And we don't think we are going to take any further action. But it was good to teach one of them a lesson.

[swarnava.m]

A doubt I've always had. Will be good if someone can clarify this.

If one drives with a bluetooth headset on (irrespective of whether he is on a call or not), can he be pulled over for a violation? If yes, under which offence?

Another similar query is, if one is using the BT on the HU for a phone call, can he be charged with a violation for the same?

[mohandasnikhil]

Originally Posted by swarnava.m

A doubt I've always had. Will be good if someone can clarify this.

If one drives with a bluetooth headset on (irrespective of whether he is on a call or not), can he be pulled over for a violation? If yes, under which offence?

Another similar query is, if one is using the BT on the HU for a phone call, can he be charged with a violation for the same?

Well technically using the mobile phone while driving is an offence. So if a cop tries to stop you while you are only wearing the Bluetooth device he wont be able to charge you because of lack of evidence of you using the phone(Call Records/ Logs etc)
And yes technically using any device to make/ receive calls is an offence. So yes using a HU Bluetooth is a violation of the law, but again hard to spot for a cop. You could be singing in your car which might look like you are talking on a HU Bluetooth.

[humyum]

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

Great!! Good going. Keep us posted on what happens.

Can anyone share the Traffic Police Helpline number? The one I have does not seem to connect or always comes busy.

24937746 / 47 / 55--> here is the number of the traffic police control room, this is where I had called.

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

What's the helpline number?

I ve' shared the number above.

Originally Posted by alpha1

Suspension is a very mild punishment. TERMINATION of services is sorely required in case of public servants. Only this will keep a check on their cheekiness.

Perhaps we all should write to our newspapers demanding for a rule to allow termination of public servants.

Imagine if this was a private organization, he would've been asked to leave immediately ...

True, very very true.

Originally Posted by rajesh1868

Did you get the license back?

Yes


And this is how the story unfolded the next day. I was not satisfied with just complaining about him to the helpline number, I wanted a Hiroshima/Nagasaki not a Pearl Harbor. I want the crook to hit him where it hurt him the most and that would be his 'ego'. I wanted him to be scared of every educated soul on this planet. I wanted him to realize that people of the 21st century are not 'cows' to follow wherever they are led and lastly I wanted him to pay by getting insulted, the very way in which he humiliated and insulted me on the road.

So with being my mission, I took charge, went to the traffic police website and mailed all the top honchos the entire story. Heck, I told them that I would lose all trust in traffic cops forever if this guy got away.

Next day morning I went to the Chowki but the PI was not there but the other cop said I could collect my licence for 100 bucks if I wanted. I told him a NO. I could have had an easy escape from this by giving 100 bucks, but NO, mission was to get that guy on his knees. So asked him when the 'Sahib' would be available and he said in the afternoon.

Went again in the afternoon during my lunch break and the sahib was there. He knew about my complaint to the big guys. He called the errant cop who had caught me and asked him "He was talking on the mobile phone eh" ?

That guy said "Yes It was on his ears, I saw it"

I showed him the bill I had collected from Idea of my call records with no calls whatever so ever between 5:00 Pm to 6:45 PM, he caught me at 6:15

The PI was red and to save face the crook said "He must be messaging, who knows".

I was like dint he just say I had the phone on my ear, do you think I can message while talking, now you know who is lying" and that I have tints in my car too, how come he never wrote about it in the receipt he gave me, because then he would have to give my licence away for 100 rupees which he did not want to do.

That guy got fired left, right and centre. Insulted with words that cannot be written here by the PI. The crook just kept his head down in humiliation.

I too added a bit of those insults by telling him that people like him are a black spot to humanity bla bla.

He had smirked and told me 'If you could drive a swift, I could afford Rs 2200" which he was asking as a bribe when I told him I don't have 2200 bucks right away. Now it was my turn to give a kick back.

The entire ordeal ended with the PI apologizing big time. Asked me to have chai with him whenever I pass by from here and that if any traffic cop ever misbehaved with me, he would take him to task. Told me not to take these things to heart and that every traffic cop is not like this.

Got my licence back with a promise that some action would be taken against this cop.

[Captain Slow]

Originally Posted by humyum

24937746 / 47 / 55--> here is the number of the traffic police control room, this is where I had called.
.

You did a very brave and smart thing my friend but please be careful about cops, you never know what he or his "friends" might do to you for revenge.

[humyum]

Originally Posted by Captain Slow

You did a very brave and smart thing my friend but please be careful about cops, you never know what he or his "friends" might do to you for revenge.

Thank you. I know what you mean, my dad told me the same thing. He was dead against me mailing the top honchos but the harassment by the cop just went overboard this time. Usually, the cops even when they take a bribe are not 'rude' or 'humiliating' although the 'bribe' thing is wrong in itself but we try to get a middle path out, where even I am at fault many a times but this guy pushed all the wrong buttons and I just went into revenge and teaching a lesson mode.

Never the less, I will be careful.

[lapis_lazuli]

This judgement by a Kolkata court says a lot. We don't know the rules hence suffer. Even seizing documents indiscriminately, is actually illegal. Please find time to read through, especially closing statements.

http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/24064/

[humyum]

My encounters with the traffic police continue. My nature of not letting anyone run over me or my friends makes these things a matter of justice for me.

So here it goes. My best friends black Swift Diesel was parked outside the building. It was not blocking anything and there were many other vehicles parked ahead, behind it as well as further more in the lane. Outside our building there is no 'No parking Sign'. We can park it if we want, but we generally remove it during the day as we don't want to block even the minutest of traffic, but if we did not remove it, its not illegal.

So this tow guy comes, tries picking the car up. The ground floor building guys tell him to 'not pick it up' as its no where written its no parking and moreover its a building car which can be removed in 2 minutes by the owner if you demand so. No need of towing it all the way to Vikroli and and all that. Those guys intimidate the uncle who lives on the ground floor who is a smaller in structure and a little soft spoken. My best friends sister gives me an SOS and I go down and see that the Swift has been towed.

But their luck would have it, the end of the lane had a huge traffic jam due and this dude gets stuck there. I run behind the tow vehicle before he could run away and with my best friends dad who is like 64 walking slowly towards the Tow vehicle as he cannot run at that age.

I ask him to drop the car immediately as we are the owners. First he says 'Chowki Aao' and then instantly my eyes fall on the Swift and how its being towed.

The steel chains for towing decimate the lower grills of the front bumper and they have buckled under the load of the car. The hinges of the front bumper from both the sides have broken and its all dangling loose.

That pushed the Nitrous switch in my head and I lost my cool. I told him in a very stern and loud voice to drop the car 'RIGHT NOW'.

He said, Let me go a little ahead of traffic, I ll stop and drop it but he was fooling me, as soon as the road cleared ahead, he zoomed. BUT his luck was supremely bad that day as there was a massive traffic jam ahead which was moving at an almost walking speed. THIS trying to fool me infuriated me beyond belief.

I ran behind the car and then a shouting match started with me standing right in front of the truck. A guy in the POLO heard what was going on and he stopped his car right in front of the truck asking me to get my car until which he will not move. THE Tow guys were pinned.

Initially they tried to intimidate me, BUT I was yelling all sorts of profanities even though I am a very quite person by nature. He told me once more that 'Chowki aao', this time the officer too got some Hindi/English ones, I just dint care who he was or what he was.

Now the traffic behind was jammed, People surrounded the truck and everyone were thumbing me up and asking me to NOT back down until I got my car. My best friends dad by then had reached the scene and he told the Police guy to release the car or run the Polo and him over before he would move. I took pictures from my cell phone of the Tow guys at the scene.

I asked the Officer, "Will your dad pay for the swift's bumper that you damaged'? --> I said it in Hindi but translated it in English for the forum.

He said "Repair it and come and collect the money from the Police station".

I was like "Main Life main vela betha hai ki main yeh sab karte bethu kyu ki tumko tumhara din ka quota khatam karna hai, jaise tumko fine on the spot chahiye hota hai, mujhe bumper ka paisa bhi on the spot hi chahiye".

That got some roars and claps from the crowd who by now had accumulated on the opposite side, our side and everywhere behind.

Two more traffic cops came on the scene to calm things down.

I told them, that either he unloads my car or we will have a problem here.

He unloads the car as he has no option. We take his name and the Chowki he resides in only to discover that Vikroli Chowki guys cannot pick up cars from Ghatkopar, its not their area.

The car is taken to the nearby Maruti guys who clip the bumper back into place, as for the grill below, its damaged and that's how I ll be forever. We have cello taped it for the time being as my friends dad does not have the time for now to get it replaced.

Moral of the story --> NEVER BACK DOWN. These guys are thugs and you need to get down to their level to not let yourself be run over. Maybe a fine of 300 bucks would have settled this at the Chowki. Its not a big sum. Maybe its not worth the shouting and yelling, but till when will we get intimidated by these guys and not make a stand ? This was our stand.

[humyum]

My tryst with cops don't seem to end at all. Maybe because I am 27 and look younger than my age, they think 'they can intimidate' me, NOT HAPPENING. NOT NOW. NOT EVER.

2 traffic cops right after the sea link ending at Worli end stop me.

He was like 'Pressure horn are illegal, that thing you have in the front is not allowed'

I show him that they are Hella 500ff lights which are covered by Hella's white cover and not pressure horns, and they are not even yellow but white in color and way below the headlight level.They are next to the number plate so its not illegal.

He says in a rude tone 'Licence Dikhao'.

I show him the Licence but hold it in my hand when he tries to grab it.

I was like 'Dekh liya na, ab haath main kyu chahiye?

He is like 'Woh light ka 3 thousand rupees fine'.

I am like 'IN YOUR DREAMS' and YES I SAID IT. I am like 'show me proof' that this asks for a fine as I know the rules and they are within ever reach of the rule.

He was like 'If I show you, You will have to pay 3 thousand rupees'?.

I was like 'If you cant show me in exact terms that this Hella 550 ff is against the rules', you will have to give me 3 thousand bucks.

He was taken aback a bit, but just to maintain his attitude he goes

I am the 'Machli of this samunder whom you are trying to challenge'

I was like 'I am an educated Indian who will take his camera phone out, record everything and put it on you tube for your sahibs to see'. You and your machli can take a hike.

I walk towards the car as I am getting late and no mood for this intimidation and top of that I don't want to ruin my day.

He is shouting at the top of his voice behind asking me to stop. I could not care less. If he ran behind me, I had all plans of stopping at a police station and explaining the situation. I had all papers, my numbers plates are right, I dont have tints in my car, I have insurance, RC book, heck even the PUC certificate. I AM NOT PAYING ANYTHING TO SOME FOOL WHO THINKS HE CAN RUN HIS HOUSE FROM THUGGING PEOPLE.

He got on his bike, expecting that I ll look in my rear view mirror and stop seeing him chase me.

I just din't care and drove off as I normally do.

He did not come behind, how could he. I am not at fault in any direction.

Ultimately it did ruin my mood, who's day would not get spoilt seeing this situation in a country which we call our 'mother land'. Do I have to fight it out time and again even though I am right ?

Well to be honest, before I wanted to stay in India all my life because I love my India, but these incidents happening every now and then I am not sure anymore.

[MuzzledMoose]

Sorry for the one liner but i have to say that we need to teach these policemen not to waste time on educated class.

[lapsi]

Originally Posted by swarnava.m

If one drives with a bluetooth headset on (irrespective of whether he is on a call or not), can he be pulled over for a violation? If yes, under which offence?

Legally, if the driver is alone in the car, the phone has to be switched off.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by humyum

My tryst with cops don't seem to end at all.

Kudos to you @humyum and the way you have been carrying with these thugs! A lot of people (on and off the forum) would probably advise you to be careful and aware of potential future issues from these guys, but as you rightly said, never back down!

Recently when I was with a friend who was driving my car, we were stopped wrongly for an "offence" we didn't do. When we argued and pointed out the correct facts, the cop switched on to the tinted glasses and started demanding money (1000 Rs) for the same. I was clear about the 100Rs fine and indicative period allowed for removal of the same, but my friend who was from Bangalore (and had to travel back) completely freaked out when the cop told him to collect his license at the chowki and pay the fine. Didn't listen to my arguments, and instead he paid him an intermediate bribe amount. Guess we all need to buck up and go the route taken by you.

[audioholic]

I am younger, and these cops think they can milk me money any way they can. I have never been stopped in the car, but they think all two wheeler riders dont have licence, documents, or such. In fact the Bangalore Traffic Police had informed us that cops cant stop you casually unless you have committed an offense at the spot. Recently I was stopped casually, which itself made me lose cool. The ASI tried to pluck the key away which further flared me up. Yelled at him saying I am not running away anywhere. Then starts the usual scene. Licence - check. RC -check. Insurance - check. I was giving an annoying grin.

Then he asks his senior if there are any pending fines. I havent got a single one till date. He says no. My grin turns into a laugh. This smart ASI then points at my number plate saying its illegal. Though I dont have a plate in the front, the stickering is made in accordance to the minimum dimensions specified in the CMVR. I had taken a printout while getting the stickers cut. Since there was no provision for a number plate in the front, the panel had to be drilled. Instead, I got it stickered in standard non fancy font. If plates were to be mandatory, the ARAI must have insisted on a provision during homologation itself. I had the same printout. I asked him if he knew what was wrong in the plate. He tells it should be on a metal plate and so. I removed the printout and gave it to him. Told him to measure the dimensions and check. He was even pissed. Then I told if there was any other way he could fine me. After that he acts as if he us doing a godly favour by letting me go.

Immediately called up the office of the commissioner, traffic and told them what these guys were doing. They blasted the ASI on the phone. Took the name of both and told the guy on the other end of the phone. Without any specific reason, I was stopped and around tem minutes was wasted. The higher up at the scene also got angry and asked why take small matters to high ups. I told if you guys had behaved properly, there was no necessity. Then they started apologising and pleaded me to call back the office and report the matter as solved. I told them that if they were really going to take serious action, I would do so but if they were to warn you, its better you listen to it and comply and left the scene.

I keep documents with me at all times, renew insurance regularly, habe a zero offense record, and still if I get targeted by cops to make some money, I will not budge at any cost. Its so annoying when the real culprits get away and we are caught. Many people get away from the scene driving like maniacs if a cop flags them down. I stopped as soon as the cop told me to without giving a cry. So I expect better quality of interaction. Of course in some other places the cops give us respect, which makes us return the same. Once when I was sitting in a parked car, a cop comes on his bike to the side. I asked if it was a no parking area. He told no and that he was just checking for pending offenses. He was very polite and his politeness increased when there was no pending fines. We both had a brief exchange of pleasantries and he left. That is what I expect. Not that they should be polite enough to let us go after jumping a signal.