[diyguy]

On 4th feb 2017 at noon, I was crossing central station on my activa when I was stopped by a team of cops associated to the Periamet police station for not wearing a helmet. They were grabbing bike keys or an original document and chargesheeting everyone. I wanted to pay the fine then and there and get over it but to no avail.

The inspector and the head constable did not agree to me paying on the spot fine and told me to come any day 10-12 morning or 6-8 evenings to the Periamet station with a purchase receipt of a new ISI certified helmet.

I have a trip coming up to the US and I needed my license so i can rent a car there. I decided to go today to try and retrieve my license.

I reached periamet station at 10:45am and was instructed to go to the second floor. there was a cop/writer (Ravi) yelling at all offenders and generally being a jerk. I went to him and showed him my charge sheet and he asked me give it to him and wait outside. He called me in about 20 mins and told me to go get some copies of the charge sheet, helmet receipt and some forms they had filled up. Got two copies of them and also had to submit another id proof. Took about 45 mins and he then told me to come back at 2:00pm in full pants as he judge would take offense to bermudas.

Went back at 2pm and he wasn't in. There were about 20 more people waiting and he finally showed up at 2:15pm and again started screaming at everyone. He then took up the forms for the day and insisted that all should have an alternate id proof with same name as in the DL, fathers name etc

I gave him my passport copy and he wasn't happy but accepted it anyway. Made me sign in two places and sent out of room. He finished all docs at 2:32pm and told us to head to vepery police station near which a mobile court would come.

We went there and waited till about 3:20pm. The mobile court arrived at 3:20pm and cops from about 5 stations arrived and there was a crowd of about 100 offenders. This included Drunk Drivers as well. The cops verified and reverified all forms and made us stand in a line and the honorable judge arrived around 4:00pm. He was busy signing docs and receipts and kept us all waiting till 4:30. We were told to keep 100rs in hand and one more id and were asked to go in sequence of the forms and say our name and dads name and pay the fee.

I was amazed that all the 100+ offenders were finished in like 4-5 minutes flat. Just about 2-3 seconds per person!!

In this midst there was one kid who had been caught under two stations and had two charge sheets against him and both the stations discovered it only there. He brought things to a standstill for about 10 minutes and the cops didn't know how to handle it. After consultations they fined him 100 the first time and 300 the second. All in all a forgettable experience and a lesson learnt that one must wear a helmet atleast to stay away from cops, mobile courts and their boorish behavior. Lost one day to this!

Now the funny part: I do not have a two wheeler license and I handed over my car driving license which only has a permit for LCV. No one even bothered to check this throughout this whole process

[Mortis]

I think the time you spent is justified. Not only were there a number of other offenders involved but the officers have other work to attend to as well. You were not the first to reach the station nor does it seem like the cop and judge were too late

Please wear a helmet at all times and rename your thread as it doesnt seem to be an ordeal

[deerhunter]

Originally Posted by diyguy

On 4th feb 2017 at noon, I was crossing central station on my activa when I was stopped by a team of cops associated to the Periamet police station for not wearing a helmet...
The inspector and the head constable did not agree to me paying on the spot fine and told me to come any day 10-12 morning or 6-8 evenings..
Now the funny part: I do not have a two wheeler license and I handed over my car driving license which only has a permit for LCV.

Wow...Why would you even touch a 2 wheeler without a license? That too without a helmet!!!

Going to a police station in a bermuda is not really illegal, but totally inappropriate.

Anyway, it is a good initiative from the police. Just a 100 rupee fine is not a deterrent anymore. Making one walk to the police station multiple times is more effective than 100 rupees.

Originally Posted by Mortis

I think the time you spent is justified.
..rename your thread as it doesnt seem to be an ordeal

I agree. Time well spent.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by diyguy

There was a cop/writer (Ravi) yelling at all offenders and generally being a jerk.

Pretty sure it's not him that deserves the above complement more. Not a police guy doing his job against such a big list of offenders, but YOU - who was riding without helmet and without license.

Originally Posted by diyguy

Now the funny part: I do not have a two wheeler license and I handed over my car driving license which only has a permit for LCV. No one even bothered to check this throughout this whole process

Sorry to say, there is absolutely nothing funny in this.

Can't believe you even wrote a thread on it as well. Shows that you haven't learned from the exprienced and actually am satisfied that you conned the cops.

[Chetan_Rao]

You got away cheap (literally and figuratively)!

You would've had a real ordeal if one of the cops had actually noticed your (non-existent) two-wheeler license and withheld your LCV license they'd already taken pending further processing.

All in all a forgettable experience...

Totally avoidable experience if you weren't indulging in helmet-less and license-less riding, neither of which were the cops' fault.

...lesson learnt that one must wear a helmet atleast to stay away from cops, mobile courts and their boorish behavior. Lost one day to this!

I hope you're kidding. You could lose a LOT more than a day someday if you continue to tempt your fate on a two-wheeler without protective gear on our chaotic roads.

P.S. Do take care you don't carry the same nonchalance to traffic rules with you abroad. Neither the law nor its protectors will take it lightly, and I doubt you'll be able to wriggle out so easily either, if caught.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Nothing personal, diyguy, but we need a few thousand more to get experiences like this.

Add signal violations, driving on wrong side, more than one passenger on 2-wheeler, etc etc etc. People need to suffer before they will learn. suffering cost is memorable, but major inconvenience is even more so.

I am not preaching without experience. I once had a car towed away for a parking violation in London. Whilst the actual procedure was simple compared to your experience, I had to get a lift to a distant place to recover the car, and the fine/costs were well over GBP100. A lot of money in 1990. Imagine paying fifteen to twenty thousand rupees for a parking offence!

[TorqueTwist]

+1 Crazy Driver. Having a LCV license is not a permit to drive a two wheeler. The two wheeler license is there for a reason and you are supposed to have it even before you embark a journey on it. Yet times we take things for granted and you are lucky that you have not ended meeting with an accident which could have been a serious offence.

Please don't take me wrong, but whatever you have done is not appreciated.

[BenjiRoss]

I wish you'd be caught without a seatbelt, overspeeding and without a license in the US and compare the two experiences.
Mods, isn't it our duty to report this post to authorities so that they can follow up with a charge of "Driving without a license" as owned up by the OP.

[NPV]

While it seems like a very trivial offense that could have been simply closed with payment of a Rs.100/- fine but instead one loses a full day to all the formalities and procedures, I think this legal system is in a way a great leveler and ensures Karma catches up with those violating road safety measures (yes, law/rule violation as well but then these are for the safety of oneself!). If the payment was made on the spot like it is done most times, the point is never driven home and violators will continue to do the same, after all who cares about Rs.100 ?

Wearing the helmet is just to protect yourself, so please do so at all times.

And I hope the fine will be raised to Rs.1000 or more, so that it also makes an impact economically and forces people to wear helmets and follow traffic rules in general.

[blackasta]

You were riding without a valid license, and without helmet.
Under MVA 181, You could have faced Fine up to Rs 500 or Imprisonment up to 3 months or both.
For the no helmet, you were fined 100 under MVA 177.
Consider yourself lucky that you got off so easily.

[JLS]

I appreciate the vigor and rigor shown by traffic police for offenders without helmet. However I have a few issues with this:
1. I have usually observed that traffic police only prioritizes in catching offenders without helmet/drivers without seatbelt. More serious offenders - wrong side drivers, lane violators(buses or trucks changing lanes abruptly), dangerous drivers (closely tailgating), hazardous vehicles (trucks with rods protruding outside, sand or garbage falling out of trucks), autos with 10+ passengers ARE RARELY challenged and caught.

2. Police always catches single individuals - the soft targets. I have never ever seen police taking a rickshaw driver to a task or pulling up public transport bus driver or a black tinted Innova with party flag. Typically police runs this drive of catching helmet less/seat belt offenders in last week of month to meet their targets - was surprised to see this in a beginning of the month for OP

3. A more systematic way is to catch the offender, issue a ticket and assign points to the license. However this offender catching is done in such a mindless way with only collection and target in mind - things like whether a license is valid or not is also not checked! I am also not sure whether police has authority to confiscate the key/license for a offence like helmet less driving?

My thoughts on helmet:
I preach wearing helmet to all my family members and friends - few of my near ones have adopted helmets as a result and are regular helmet wearers.
However in my opinion - driving without helmet/seat belt is at best a self inflicting offence and does not affect others on road at all.
While I wear helmet if I have to go for a distance longer than a kilometer, I skip if I have to go across the road to quickly fetch milk bags or something. I am aware of the risk, but also the same risk will be there if I am walking across the road.
In my opinion helmet and seat belts should at best left to the individuals and police should focus their energies to more serious issues on the road.

So while I agree with requirements of compliance with law, I am appealed at less than meaningful implementation where in person is made to suffer for a less serious crime of helmet less driving, more serious crime of driving without a valid license is totally overlooked/disregarded

Regards,
JLS

[ani_meher]

^^ Sorry, but driving/riding is not a right. It's a privilege that comes with certain responsibilities. The law is doing good in enforcing these responsibilities.

Without helmets/seatbelts, simple accidents with minor damage have a probability of converting into fatal ones. It is better to see that the rules are enforced than neglect them and be held responsible for some accidental death.

[diyguy]

I am sorry guys if I came across as being self righteous and sanctimonious. That wasn't my intention. I am an ass for not riding with a helmet and allowing two wheeler license to expire. It was the old paper form and not the card format of the car which I carry in my wallet. I had missed getting it endorsed on my LCv license back then.
My intention of the write up was for others to plan their day when and if they face such a situation. Am more than happy if the mods delete this thread.

[condor]

Originally Posted by diyguy

Now the funny part: I do not have a two wheeler license and I handed over my car driving license which only has a permit for LCV.

Interesting !! Your car driving licence actually is for LCV's, but you were caught riding a bike without wearing a helmet !!

[JLS]

Originally Posted by ani_meher

^^ Sorry, but driving/riding is not a right. It's a privilege that comes with certain responsibilities. The law is doing good in enforcing these responsibilities.

Without helmets/seatbelts, simple accidents with minor damage have a probability of converting into fatal ones. It is better to see that the rules are enforced than neglect them and be held responsible for some accidental death.

I agree, my only argument is of priority, focus and where to spend energy.

If two patients go to a doctor, one with a common cold and one with a serious wound needing urgent attention, I wish doctor treats the person with wound first and will not hide behind argument that for him all patients are same and patient with cold also is equally important.
Regards,
JLS