[megger]

'Rash drivers' jailed in Mumbai-Mumbai-Cities-The Times of India

MUMBAI: Policemen in Mumbai have started a fresh crackdown on rash driving, asking the courts to send drivers to prison for offences like overspeeding irrespective of whether they are drunk or not. Three persons have already spent a night in jail.

Offences like overspeeding, cutting across lanes and entering no-entry roads used to be considered “soft’’ offences, cops would not press for very strict punishments and courts would let off the offenders with just fines.

One was a cab driver with iron rods tied on the top of taxi. Other was driving a small car and the third one on a bike—were both booked for overspeeding and simultaneously changing lanes without using indicators.

With Speed limits set to 40-50 kmps on most Indian city roads, this is a fast track to land in jail!

I back that changing lanes without indicators is criminal.

Speed limits are set for safety depending upon road as well as for fuel efficiency. Since one can not even drive in top gear properly at 40kmps, should 60kmph be declared offensive?

[Rtech]

This is exactly what we were all worried would be the fall-out. Our cops simply going overboard with things and attaching no real rational behind their actions.

The words "rash" are thrown about far too freely here. Any action by a driver can be noted down as "rash" by our cops simply because they have no other term under the old laws by which to book a person.

On my way to work today, I took a few photographs of the mayhem that goes on outside a main local train station. Incidentally, there are always policemen on duty there, and the office of the WIAA is bang next door to all this. However, I have not once seem a police man take any action against either the cabbies or the jaywalkers. Forget jail, they don't even bother ensuring that they stop in a proper place.

So what we will soon have here are cops catching private car owners, preferably larger car owners, maybe grabbing some nice headlines, while milking some money out of the smaller fish. All this while they turn a blind eye to the real menaces of our roads, the taxi's who drive without any lights, forget signals, the trucks who ply our roads without any lights and our merry jaywalker who feels it is their right to walk, cross and even stand and have a conversation where ever they feel like.

[vivekiny2k]

Originally Posted by Rtech

our merry jaywalker who feels it is their right to walk, cross and even stand and have a conversation where ever they feel like.

Ahhhh, i miss my freedom in india .

but seriously speaking, are these crimes legally enough to book somebody?

[Rtech]

These are the photographs I was referring to in my earlier post:

This is at the signal, waiting to take the right. Only two lanes on the right are supposed to be used for the turn. I made it a point to stop behind the line of taxi's on the third lane (one used to go straight) to take this pic. A few seconds later, more taxi's came and blocked the lane to the left of me.


As soon as the signal turns green, or a few seconds before, these cabs simply take off! If you happen to be crossing at that moment, not even God can help you!


This is the mess right outside the WIAA office. All these taxi's want to take the extreme left turn. But notice that they have occupied the entire road! Signals, lane cutting...naaaahhh.


Right outside the station. Today was actually a slow day due to Ganpathi, but you get the drift. To the left are 2 bustops. I have never seen a bus actually make its way to the side of the road, as there are always taxi's stopped/parked there.


And then they simply turn wherever they want too. Doesn't matter that they block traffic while they take that illegal turn.



Here again, they simply turn on a dime, no signals, no looking to see if anything is coming, nothing.


So where are the mighty cops now? Standing on the side watching this circus. I'll catch them on camera tomorrow.

[amit]

Thanks to jokers like our cops, driving is getting extremely dangerous. How are these guys going to enforce the law when they themselves know nothing about it?

Offences like overspeeding

Like doing 51kmph in a 50kmph zone?

cutting across lanes

What lanes? Before the cops arrest us for cutting lanes, shouldn't they ensure that there are properly demarkated lanes on our roads?

I have said this earlier in the thread about speeds of commercial vehicles being limited to 65kmph that the "mai baap" attitude of the authorites is very dangerous. Every thing is the fault of the drivers who haven't been trained or tested properly by these same jokers who are now arbitarily enforcing fines on us. Let the government first take their employees to task, punish them then train them properly in traffic management. Have they ensured that all our roads have easily visible signs? In no country will you have authorities waking up one day and starting to enforce rules without doing their part of the homework.

[megger]

Aaah.... if authorities start arresting drivers on cutting lanes and rash driving, who will be left to drive Bangalore BMTC buses?

[kpbhatt]

today my car was stopped on my way to work and the traffic cop fined my driver for not putting on the seatbelt -- 100Rs ka challan; my driver was fuming -- i always wear one -- the driver finds it uncomfortable...

[Torqy]

Our country has gone to the dogs.
As long as we let bird-brains rule us, don't ever expect anything more.
:(

[GTO]

As much as I support the Drink & Drive : Go to Jail movement, this is a bit too much. What defines rash driving? Someone can drive rash at 40 kph while others can drive safe at 80 kph. Unlike drunk driving where you can measure the blood alcohol content, rash driving is subjective and entirely dependent on the cop that catches you.

This is a bit over the top.

[Bass&Trouble]

Rtech: Were you driving yourself while you were taking these pics?

[Rtech]

Yes I was. Am I lucky I wasn't thrown in jail for driving with a camera in one hand? LoL

[veyron1]

@RT; Dear brother, 50% of taxis plying on Mumbai roads belong to these Pandu's, so no point in taking up "rash cab drivers"...

It's okay for the govt to tax 45%+ on new cars making India one of the most expensive car marts on the planet. It's also okay to let cars like these ply on the roads..



But hey. The cops have to make a statement by putting some guy in jail, right? Here, the motto is- if you can't find the real culprit, whomsoever is caught is guilty.

Publicity is being tossed to the wrong side of the law nowadays. And yes, these steps are extremely harsh; only gives the damn cops another reason to extract 200 bucks instead of the usual 100....

[megger]

Cool picture! I hope it is on its way to garage

Wonder what view of the road the driver must be getting. Should be towed ideally

[Torqy]

This is a classic case of "We do what we can" and not "We do what we should"

When we know that the root problem is something else, we look for cheap ways to "do something" just for the sake of it. How many policemen (including officers) know about lane discipline? Do their cars follow them? No, because it's driven by someone who was brought in this mayhem.
How many policemen can IDENTIFY a traffic offence? And how many react to it?

We have one of the WORST designed roads and the STUPIDEST road designers / planners. For example, to know which lane to keep, you should know which lane goes where. What's the point in keeping the sign boards at the junction then? Only when you reach the juction will you know which lane to keep...and all the mayhem starts.

Is it rocket science to know that if "x" is the amount of traffic you bring to a point with a single lane road, then you bring "3x" amount of traffic if you make it 3 lane. Throw a narrow single lane underbridge section in between and you know who to blame.

Are we not smart enough to make roads which don't get washed away in rain? Is rain a phenomenon which started last year?

If law and order is of utmost importance to a country's progress, why are these policemen treated like dogs? Why are they paid such paltry salaries? How can you blame a policeman for accepting bribes when his salary is not enough to support a family? (I'm not justifying bribes here.)

Sorry about the long post...i just had to let it go. :(

-- Torqy

[hyper123]

I was once fined for riding at 70kph on a highway!! That's on the mysore-bangalore road...
Speed limits over here are not justified. You see a limit of 50kph on flyovers!! We have age old traffic rules n regulations, which is a sad thing; considering how much the automotive sector has grown in the past decade.