[ACM]

1) Lovely Thread
2) I hate Giving Bribes and resist it at all cost, including giving a higher value fine with receipt.
3) Recently had a bad experience that I was unable to record nor come out on top of.
At thane Ghodbunder Road, below the Vijay Nagari (Wagbil Naka) Flyover. I had halted at the instructions of a traffic police guy. there were about 5 of them there and they still were doing a mess of traffic management purely due to inefficient work and being more focused on chitchatting among themselves.

I rolled down my glass and pointed this out to a senior guy standing next to me who was busy chatting looking in the wrong direction. His counter was that he is doing a government job. I pointed out that I pay the taxes that pay for government jobs. He was infuriated and stepped in front of my car to delay my going ahead when the traffic on my side was released. I removed my phone to take his snap and he came to my window side to snatch my phone and then pulled at my shirt and also put his baton in my car. He asked another traffic police guy to help him stop me. I then saw the opportunity and left.


I headed straight for the police station (I stay in the same area and so knew it's location well) but the route to it was blocked due to sewage work. Tried another route and that too was blocked for the same reason. the third approach would have taken me past the same traffic police guy and there was still a jam so I gave up after trying to go to the police station to lodge a complaint of physical assault. I further realized I had no proof as I had been unable to taken any snaps, plus they were many and I was alone so I finally gave up.


Infuriating.

[VKumar]

Originally Posted by H_Dogg72

I value my sanity more than a few bucks.

9/10 times, I end up messing with the cops!

A few months back, I was riding my motorcycle at 90 kph on Eastern Peripheral Expressway. Motorcycles are officially not allowed on the route, so firstly the cops let you climb and then a few kilometers later they catch you. Happened to me while passing Palwal.

They told me that I was over speeding at 84 kph and speed limit for motorcycles is 60 kph, now the guy was trying his luck and told me that my license will be suspended. I asked them that if any heavy vehicle hits me from behind at 60 kph, then will he be responsible? No luck, he is adamant that he will confiscate my license. Or pay 600 bucks.

Somehow, I slowly turned my phone camera ON and kept the phone in hand while doing normal gestures. In the meanwhile talked to him, called his name, asked his chowki name etc, just recorded his face while normally moving my hand. The bargain ended at 200 bucks (That's what I carry inside my wallet when I know that this route has high probability of getting caught by cops).

Now I call a friend and simply said "I sent you a Whatsapp, if I don't call you back in 20 minutes, just forward it to Rajnath singh, Manohar Khattar, DGP Haryana and all officers of Palwal". After speaking this, I went to my motorcycle and when I was about to start, it was the same cop holding my hand calmly and asking "beta kya hua (what happened dear son)"?

This was followed by another round of bargains, whose outcome I won't tell. But yes, that man and his squad is going to remember me for their entire life.

In other words, cops just try their luck time and again, all one needs is not to have a feared face and speak in a confident voice - things do work out themselves after that.

[speedguy]

Originally Posted by H_Dogg72

That's what the mods do. They will give infraction for bad posts. It's a democracy. Everyone has right to free speech.
Agree to disagree, yeah?

It's funny that people always takes support of democracy, free speech for the wrong things. There is an old saying, character is what you do when nobody is watching.
What your post implied was wrong in my opinion. Plain & simple.
I just didn't wanted to reply you personally as I knew you would take offence. Instead a provision for dislike or don't agree button would have solved the purpose without any altercation. Anyway, I am not against you personally, but the behavior under certain condition.

[H_Dogg72]

Originally Posted by ACM

1)

I rolled down my glass and pointed this out to a senior guy standing next to me who was busy chatting looking in the wrong direction. His counter was that he is doing a government job. I pointed out that I pay the taxes that pay for government jobs. He was infuriated and stepped in front of my car to delay my going ahead when the traffic on my side was released. I removed my phone to take his snap and he came to my window side to snatch my phone and then pulled at my shirt and also put his baton in my car. He asked another traffic police guy to help him stop me. I then saw the opportunity and left.


I headed straight for the police station (I stay in the same area and so knew it's location well) but the route to it was blocked due to sewage work. Tried another route and that too was blocked for the same reason. the third approach would have taken me past the same traffic police guy and there was still a jam so I gave up after trying to go to the police station to lodge a complaint of physical assault. I further realized I had no proof as I had been unable to taken any snaps, plus they were many and I was alone so I finally gave up.


Infuriating.

Exactly. Why go thru so much stress is my point. Could have been avoided with a simple payout as illustrated below.
I would be scared to get a beating if that happened to me.

Originally Posted by VKumar

9/10 times, I end up messing with the cops!



Now I call a friend and simply said "I sent you a Whatsapp, if I don't call you back in 20 minutes, just forward it to Rajnath singh, Manohar Khattar, DGP Haryana and all officers of Palwal". After speaking this, I went to my motorcycle and when I was about to start, it was the same cop holding my hand calmly and asking "beta kya hua (what happened dear son)"?

This was followed by another round of bargains, whose outcome I won't tell. But yes, that man and his squad is going to remember me for their entire life.

In other words, cops just try their luck time and again, all one needs is not to have a feared face and speak in a confident voice - things do work out themselves after that.

Hahahahahahahaha
Ballin' indeed.
I am super interested in how you handled it. Will keep it in mind if something similar happens lololol

Originally Posted by speedguy

It's funny that people always takes support of democracy, free speech for the wrong things. There is an old saying, character is what you do when nobody is watching.
What your post implied was wrong in my opinion. Plain & simple.
I just didn't wanted to reply you personally as I knew you would take offence. Instead a provision for dislike or don't agree button would have solved the purpose without any altercation. Anyway, I am not against you personally, but the behavior under certain condition.

No offense taken. My life my choice. Makes no difference to me what you believe. That's why I said if it makes you happy don't pay bribe or fight with cops. All upto the person. Live and let live

[ACM]

Originally Posted by H_Dogg72

Exactly. Why go thru so much stress is my point. Could have been avoided with a simple payout as illustrated below.
I would be scared to get a beating if that happened to me.

Originally Posted by H_Dogg72

No offense taken. My life my choice. Makes no difference to me what you believe. That's why I said if it makes you happy don't pay bribe or fight with cops. All upto the person. Live and let live

Giving a Bribe is wrong, no two ways about it. I could maybe understand it if someone is doing it to get out of a tricky situation where the police or some govt. dept. is delaying the process at no fault of the individual. However to give a bribe to avoid giving a legitimate fine even if higher is not the correct way of life.

I have on multiple occasions stopped my car and asked the police guys to do a better job or penalize people and they have acted upon my complaints. I have made the police come out of their chowk at night and stop two wheelers on the eastern freeway in Bombay (and yes many have lost their life on two wheelers on that route).

I hence appreciate the attempts of the thread starter fully. Yep we all have our own views on what is correct.

[gadadhar]

Have not seen this type of harassing in Andhra, TN or Kerala and private vehicles are let undisturbed generally. Situation used to be bad in Karnataka for out of state vehicles, but things I feel have improved after the recent court order.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by gadadhar

Have not seen this type of harassing in Andhra, TN or Kerala and private vehicles are let undisturbed generally. Situation used to be bad in Karnataka for out of state vehicles, but things I feel have improved after the recent court order.

For sure, KA has improved a lot in this regard. Shocking to hear about this situation at the toll plazas.

[vigsom]

I have heard of several instances of GJ registered( especially GJ05, GJ01 and GJ21) cars being stopped past the Dahisar toll under some pretext or the other for a few dollars more. This has been the case for over 20 years.

Forget extortion at tolls, I have personally experienced this even at Mumbai Central Station in 2005 and the experience was quite scary since I was led to an isolated room and the door, bolted.

Passengers with big bags are assumed to be coming from overseas and put through a check for booze, foreign currency etc. in an isolated room and every effort is made to take some money away.

I have scant respect for the MH police, even though they are glorified in movies aka Singham.

[invidious]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Sorry to be blunt; but it's unfortunate that you feel at peace doing this. The only 'plus' point in this post is you are completely honest about it; and that's also the most sad part of it.

Is this the exit that comes up just a km before the Lonavala exit (from Pune to Bombay); just next to Sinhgad institute of hotel management? I have seen quite a few local cars entering and exiting through this.

Yes. It's close to that Institute. It's more than a km though. It saves you about 40-45 minutes if you have a bungalow in Pavna. They can just open up the exit officially and charge people. What's stopping them?

[sam_sant2005]

I really appreciate your courage here. WELL DONE.

However I have a warning for everyone. Sometime back in Kerala a man had a similar altercation with a senior policeman but it ended up real bad. That guy went through a very very bad aftermath and it escalated even till Kerala Chief Minister.
https://www.deccanchronicle.com/curr...ng-techie.html

Some policemen with the power of Uniform sometimes go to any extent to defend their ego even if they are wrong. They just dont want to be questioned.

Don't think I am being pessimistic but for the well being of my fellow Team BHPians, my suggestion is, be at safe distance, record proofs, collect all evidence and then fight through social media or even file a formal case through an advocate. In person fighting with police forces is risky in some cases and can cause severe discomfort to poor citizens like us.

Personally I had an instance where me and my front were riding in 2 bullets through a Kerala highway with the typical thud thud of a heavy crank bullets at 40kmph. As I was passing through a police checkpoint, unknowingly I looked at the Sub Inspector. It was only a casual look but who he probably took it as a stare. They immediately chased us down, we didnt even know. He asked me why I stared at him. Took both bullets to police custody and made us run behind for two days to get it released. And finally charged us for speaking over phone. There is no logic, but sometimes it is tough. I was in my 20s back then so never thought of fighting with them either.

[hailstorm]

I think this is a nuisance which can't be done away with, for a while. But , fortunately, technology is turning out to be the saviour these days. With On dash DVRs (digital video recorder) and advanced vehicle tracking units, one has more chances to prove himself right. I have both installed in my cars. Highly recommended!!

[H_Dogg72]

Originally Posted by sam_sant2005

I really appreciate your courage here. WELL DONE.


Some policemen with the power of Uniform sometimes go to any extent to defend their ego even if they are wrong. They just dont want to be questioned.
either.

Whole heatedly agree. It's the same in the numerous road rage cases reported all the time.
In the end it's a personal choice.

A. You fight, record video, maybe you win or get beaten up, or your vehicle is seized.
B. Be cool. Pay the fine or a bribe and drive away with a grin on your face.
I have been rear ended in traffic numerous times. All minor shunts. Didn't even get down the car. Not worth my time.
I'd like to add a good incident too. I hit an eeco drivers mirror. He didn't say anything or shout but I still stopped on the shoulder. The first thing he said was "sab ok? Mera sheesha theek hai" Nothing bad happened and we went by smiling.
There's too much anger in this country, and I don't want to lose my life or get baton in my face over trivial issues like a stupid car or a fine.

[Ranabegins]

Personally i have not faced a lot of issue with cops, i have paid cops on a couple of instances without receipt just because i was out of state and they were not ready to give it without me giving my license to them and i know it's not legal but there is no point arguing when you are in an unfamiliar territory.
The reason i have not faced a lot of issue is that the car i travel in outstation trips is my friends and he and a couple of his family members are lawyers so there is a parking sticker of the court on the windshield, as soon as cops notice the lawyer thing they don't really want to mess with us.
My suggestion would be not to mess with cops when you are out of state and specially in an uncrowded area. They would go to any limit to extract money from you.

[FrodoOfTheShire]

Originally Posted by hailstorm

With On dash DVRs (digital video recorder) and advanced vehicle tracking units, one has more chances to prove himself right

Originally Posted by H_Dogg72

You fight, record video, maybe you win or get beaten up, or your vehicle is seized.

I too have installed dashcam on my car but even that worries me sometime. I had read an incident probably on Team BHP itself, that the cops had stopped a car. On finding every document in order, in desperation they asked the guy to pay fine for installing the dashcam on his car. Their argument was that such camera installation is illegal, you need some permission from some authority and you may be using the dashcam to shoot videos of women on the roads!

There is just no winning from the trumped up charges that these cops can come up with. Even if you do stand your ground, they might eventually back off but only after making you wait and wasting your precious time and sanity. And not everyone has the luxury of time.

Let me be a devil's advocate for a minute here. Let's not forget that the cops and constables don't have such huge salaries. Most departments are understaffed and most of these guys are on duties for extended periods of time even during public holidays and festivals. Its a physically demanding job where they have to face the heat, cold and rains whenever required. Enough to make most of them permanently cranky. And with every other guy taking bribes and making that extra money every month, it takes superhuman effort to remain underpaid and honest.

Might sound completely pessimistic, but sad truth is that in our country the common man will always be looted, either through atrocious taxations or through bribes. And while venting our frustrations on social media or forums might be therapeutic, it won't change the reality. Nothing ever really happens with corrupt cops. I would be happy to be proven wrong if someone can show me any incident where a corrupt cop got his comeuppance due to some action from a common man!

Let's obey the written laws (not the ones cooked up by the corrupt cops), carry all the required documents, drive safe and within speed limits and pray you're let off by the cops easily. Most cops would not bother to harrass a law abiding citizen. If they do and the price to pay is a couple hundred rupees, then remember that your time and mental peace is worth much more than that.

[amolathalye]

Hi ,

This may be little off the topic but is very much related to RTO specially in state of Maharashtra and in Mumbai City. I fondly remember days of around 25 years back when motorists and bikers were scarred of RTO as they would stop you for slightest mistakes and charge a challan e.g. I was stopped for lane cutting near pizzeria on marine drive in Mumbai while turning left towards Churchgate station which was a favourite spot of cops then. Despite the fact I changed one lane far before the signal where the lanes were marked. But now I don't see any cop at any such spots.

They now catch easy pray like bikers without helmets and cars coming from other states. Mostly now they are not interested in catching the real culprits. Today's indiscipline , reckless behaviour of bikers / motorists that we see today on our streets is the result of their disassociation with their duties.

I have seen bikers jumping signals , entering one way streets , driving recklessly right in front of cops , that too at a very important roads of Mumbai like the ones near Mantralaya , Colaba , etc. I know that now we have CCTV installations at important junctions / roads for monitoring and even the automatic challan system. But I have not seen a single biker following the traffic rules which indicates that the electronic challan isn't very effective yet.

The ever increasing number deaths on roads is evident of the road traffic conditions. I fear that this will worsen in future and unfortunately I don't see a solution in near future.