[1100D]

Once long back, when Pepsi had just introduced the cans. I was driving with a can on my right hand and a policemen caught me for drinking while driving!!

[v1p3r]

Ok, can we stop the silliness and the police bashing? I don't think 2000 bucks a month will allow most cops to enjoy fripperies like Pepsi, much less in cans. And I mean their official salary, not what we pay them extra.

Be the change that you want to see, the Mahatma said. Vote!

[Godfather]

I agree.. Its not only the salary but as someone else also mentioned its the education.. I remember one scene where i was flagged down by a cop.

He could not find anything wrong and finally stuck to the modded silencer..header and all.. This was when having a loud car was not a crime. when he tried to fine me i calmly and very seriously told him that he cant fine me for a stock company car..
for 10 seconds he just stood there staring at me.. and told me that i have a modded silencer and its not allowed.. I asked him to follow me to the rear of the car and showed him a "Mugen" metal sticker (on a Suzuki ) now before you guys start on my ignorance let me remind you that i had an original mugen end pipe on the esteem so the sticker.
i told him that this is a limited edition esteem from Maruti (boy n_aditya will flame me for this) and i paid a premium of more than 1.5L over the normal esteem..and they had made only 200 cars. and this is one of them.
he stood there for sometime..thought over it and let me go...no fine..no nothing..

Godfather

[GeekSrik]

interesting!

yesterday i had (for whatever stupid reason) parked my car at a place where there was an innocuous no parking board, which is never to be noticed. i was speaking on the phone outside the car, while a cop went by, since he went past me and went away, i didnt think i had done anything wrong. he came back after one round to the same place and fined me. asked for my license. promptly handed it over. then he said he would have fined me 300 bucks, but is letting me go with just 100 bucks. friday evening, and I perhaps can understand why he wanted the money! now i really wonder if the book he uses to issue challans really matters. and where are these things recorded as faults of mine (since i have a DL card instead of the old booklet). before i left the place, i just pointed out to him a one way street where dozens of idiots were going the wrong way right under his nose. I told him you can earn more money booking them. for which he replied: " there is another policeman at the other end of the street who will book them! " - yet another stupid reply. the last time i was booked before this was 2 yrs back for a high beam headlight again when all the cars behind and before me had their beams high for some reason. (lets say no streetlights, and dark roads!) - moral: bangalore police are a lot better seriously. they first negotiate with you and if you seem decent, let you off without ruckus, unless they are proabably drunk and want revenge!

[theMAG]

Are Noida cops under pressure or what - after that recent Hannibal Lechter case?

[HSV]

I betcha the NRI couple must have been wearing seat belts.

This is normally the case even in Delhi. when they cant find any other mistake they just intimidate you and threaten you in paying a fine for something you didnt do. They create a situation when one starts to negotiate and finally ends up paying a bribe.

Frankly I am not averse to paying a little bucks to the copper. But its pathetic when they try to harrass or intimidate you.

BTW, the Punjab police have a notorious reputation for being complete cowboys, with a serious attitude problem, overtly inflated egos, and a gigantic inferiority complex. Bless the poor soul caught on their wrong side at the wrong place at the wrong time!!

[rkg]

Originally Posted by GeekSrik

interesting!

yesterday i had (for whatever stupid reason) parked my car at a place where there was an innocuous no parking board, which is never to be noticed. i was speaking on the phone outside the car, while a cop went by, since he went past me and went away, i didnt think i had done anything wrong. he came back after one round to the same place and fined me. asked for my license. promptly handed it over. then he said he would have fined me 300 bucks, but is letting me go with just 100 bucks. friday evening, and I perhaps can understand why he wanted the money! now i really wonder if the book he uses to issue challans really matters. and where are these things recorded as faults of mine (since i have a DL card instead of the old booklet). before i left the place, i just pointed out to him a one way street where dozens of idiots were going the wrong way right under his nose. I told him you can earn more money booking them. for which he replied: " there is another policeman at the other end of the street who will book them! " - yet another stupid reply. the last time i was booked before this was 2 yrs back for a high beam headlight again when all the cars behind and before me had their beams high for some reason. (lets say no streetlights, and dark roads!) - moral: bangalore police are a lot better seriously. they first negotiate with you and if you seem decent, let you off without ruckus, unless they are proabably drunk and want revenge!

i totally agree with the observation that bangalore police are intelligent. towards the end of month the traffic cop will stand just after the signal in such a way that he is not noticed quickly.usually two or three will be standing after the signal by about 150-200 feet. commuters thinking cop is not there will jump the signal only to be caught by the police waiting at a little distance. moral is never think cop is not there at signal usually he will be there little away waiting to pounce on you. sometimes they just simply pick your vehicle even if it is parked at a proper parking lot and tow it away. they say it is parked at no parking area. how to prove. they have moved the vehicle. i had to pay fine for this once in SP road. but most of the time it is two wheelers four wheelers are rarely stopped in day time

[tsk1979]

The motor vehicle act clearly states what modifications are legal and what are not.
Alloy wheels are legal, so a are fog lamps on SuVs as long as they are not put above a certain height and confirm to certain BIS standards. To find out what BIS standard they must confirm to, all you can know is the standard number, thats all mentioned in the book.

[Fiero]

Originally Posted by Max

I think sacking will be too harsh. Cops should apologies to couple and refund their fined money in front of media. Remember, our cops should not be discouraged so much like some members have said,. Moral learned. End of story !

i couldn't disagree more ... sacking is too linient ... these people are no less than criminals ... its just a job used to abuse, misbehave and extort money ... they need to be jailed ... what this country needs is very very strong deterrents ... no one will ever learn ...

[GeekSrik]

I believe cops should be completely transformed into more executive like people who just believe and show hard evidence of people's faults to make their own lives easier. this is now being brought about in bangalore with cameras at major junctions.

another option is to make the fines bigger (say 1000 rupees for a no parking) - agree its a bit harsh on us, but there is no other way we will learn, mind you at the same time its time government gave us multistoryed parking lots (which is also on the way in bangalore)

next people who purposely flout rules (thinking they are jacks of the road) must be fined very heavily - currently there is no way a driving license can hold details of offenses (this is also in the offing in bangalore! oh my, bangalore truly is going the right way with B-TRAC), more than 10 major offences of the same type repeating means the offender is a regular one and his licencse must be cancelled - but then who cares people drive without licencse and insurance these days!! we have 2 billion people and 2000 cops!

the one major thing i was angry about in bangalore is people driving into oncoming traffic lanes, causing major jams during office hours without even thinking about waiting or how the other people feel. this is now sorted out with rock dividers on major roads, where people out of the safety reasons for their own vehicles, adhere to be within the driving direction and not jump. good job in bangalore that.

lastly autos are becoming a major major concern in bangalore and they are taking laws into their own hands which is a dangerous trend. something has to be done with them as they dont have the potential to understand why rules are there and what they mean. of course they are a harassed lot, but come to think of it they are themselves to blame for what they get into with cops. bangalore has pre paid autos at major places which has effectively eased the problem a bit, but to get autos to behave properly on the roads is an entirely difficult task.

to end, whenever there are accidents (major or minor on the road), our first reaction is to shout at the other person rather than walking upto him and sorting it out through insurance. of course everyone loves their vehicles, but there is also humanity. of what consequence are all these materialistic pleasures when all of us are gonna die without taking with us any of these?

i had a small accident with my maruti 800 today. did not notice the bar below the lorry ahead of me, he scraped my left side near the headlight with scratches. i knew its my fault that i didnt concentrate, but to get a scratch after 2 yrs is some record in bangalore and it was so minor i didnt even want to waste time to see what really happened. so guys, just drive and maintain your cool most of all, always!

[Fiero]

Originally Posted by GeekSrik

I believe cops should be completely transformed into more executive like people who just believe and show hard evidence of people's faults to make their own lives easier. this is now being brought about in bangalore with cameras at major junctions.

another option is to make the fines bigger (say 1000 rupees for a no parking) - agree its a bit harsh on us, but there is no other way we will learn, mind you at the same time its time government gave us multistoryed parking lots (which is also on the way in bangalore)

yup ... wherever possible ... produce such irrefutable evidence ... and i agree on stiff fines for things like wrong lane driving(bikers) jumping a red light ... violations in this country are far too many(part due to failure of executive to enforce law) and in my mind people caught vioting traffic rules should pay hefty hefty fines ... it's not about stopping one individual from repeating an offence or committing other offences .... it's about acting as a major deterrent to others.

we've driven through chaos on the road for far too long now ... step up fines AND step up policing(all imp. factor) ... i'm all for it

[appuchan]

Have you been to any cop selection programme? Just look at the people who participate in it and you will clearly know what they are going to be when they wear that cap. And ofcourse, its one of the most difficult jobs and thankless one at that. But in Bangalore, afaik, the traffic police seems to be pretty lenient towards car drivers inspite of large scale law breaking events happening every micro second.

In my case atleast, I have never been caught by a cop since the last 7 years I have been driving in the city. Maybe its also because I usually try not to break many rules, especially those with respect to lane control, one ways and traffic signals.

But I can easily say that the Bangalore Traffic Police is sitting on a gold mine, if not diamond! Just if they decide to implement the existing rules strictly, they will have real tough time managing the money that pours in becoz 99% of the vehicles on road breaks one or other rule every day and thats a whopping 2 million! I think it will not be any different in other cities. Ministry of Transport is constantly "missing the train" in this!

[redline]

so are modifications like headers and engine modification illegal??

[vabs78]

The entire system is sick..

The police: they are rude, corrupt, incompetent, underpaid, ill-educated . They either enter the police force by means of bribe or classical Indian reservation system.

Media: they only publish cases involving film stars or NRIs. Most of the Indian newspapers are going tabloid way.

The public(us): most of us break law at some point of other, and then get our way out using bribe when caught. Most of us so called educated crowd don’t vote so we don’t have any control over the leadership of the country.

The politicians: the worst link in the system. They keep on driving the system in the wrong direction until public vote them out. And then the next guy comes and does the same thing.

I don’t know when we are going to break the cycle.

[CBlazer]

Originally Posted by appuchan

Just if they decide to implement the existing rules strictly,

But we all need to shed our egos and be willing to cooperate. Are we ready? I get dirty looks/comments when I shout at bikers/car drivers for overtaking me from the left side, for entering the road on the wrong side. Probably asking me - "What's your fuss about? No one else is complaining." Some people tell me I have to change with time.

We somehow seem to depend on the authorities to set things right. It's the same mentality that allows vehicles to drive through the red lights late in the night - "Ride on. There's no cop at the signal."

My well paid, highly qualified colleagues drive like complete morons too! And we're discussing how stupid cops can be.