[livetodrive]

Delete your fancy number plate. Even a 3 digit number plate with a preceding 0 ignored by your car dealer should be replaced with 0XYZ.
Observe odd and even day parking rules in cities like Pune.
In a signal avoid tailgating a government bus. Rules are not same for them and us and the bus might also obstruct the signal.
Preferably do not take out a car which has a pending health certificate.
Take a U turn, however far it may be but never drive in opposite lane.

[arindam30]

My view is these red-light cameras and speed-cameras + combined with steep fines, are definitely needed. Maybe more. (yes I have also paid few fines)

Compare that with older-style. 2 cops at a red-light will typically fine 2-3 vehicles in a 10-minute window. It will probably not even cover the 'labour-cost/salary-cost' of the cops taking the challan. So it was necessary, new-tech be introduced and fines be increased.

The fine, pointed by may as adding to govt-coffers.
Now imagine the opposite. In US/Europe, a red-light jumping attracting a 2-dollar fine (similar to the Rs. 100 older fine in India). Add the probability of getting caught in manual mode (no cameras) e.g. out of 50 speedings, maybe 1 is caught. Will US/Europe traffic not turn like India in few years?
Money/fines (and probability that violation is most likely to be caught), has the power to make things right.

So tech/Camera + high-fines are definitely needed.
Road-Infrastructure / road-sense, I hope will improve slowly.

But remember, it takes time to improve, maybe several years to even a generation.
When today's kids see their parents driving sanely for fear of a predictable fine, probably they will drive similarly 10-15 years later.
(Remember, we grew-up watching the 100-buck 'chalta-hai' formula, that too maybe caught once after maybe 5000 violations)


Driving for so many years in Delhi, I do feel the 'rash driving has reduced somewhat (at least in sections with estimated cameras) and it's been only about 1-2 years in Delhi now (since cameras appeared).

Of course, I also feel bad when scores of 'other' users drive with impunity with wrong-side driving, footpath-riding, jumping-lights, but hope it will improve slowly, one small step at a time.

[kamilharis]

Except for couple of ₹100 fines for not wearing the helmet 5 or 6 years ago, I haven't received any challan for any kind of violations in India.

And in my last 4 years and 1,00,000+ kilometers of driving in KSA, I haven't received any challans. Basically, I am a sedate driver and hence speeding tickets are ruled out. Highway speed is maintained between 90-100kmph on most occasions and the highway speed limit here is 120-140kmph.

Seatbelts are always belted, no worries with that too. The only 'challan-worry' for me is regarding the occasional use of the mobile phone (for g-map or Bluetooth telephony etc.) which I am trying to reduce.

[smooth indian]

-The best way to avoid being challaned is to practice defensive driving and remain low profile on the road.
-As far as possible not to assume things and not to take chances with driving on the wrong side on one-way roads/highway slip roads/service roads. Likewise for parking on busy main roads or taking free left turns.
-Also the need to resist peer pressure or uncalled for advice from friends/family to take shortcuts or 'chalta hai! nothing will happen' attitudes.

Originally Posted by arindam30

My view is these red-light cameras and speed-cameras + combined with steep fines, are definitely needed. Maybe more. (yes I have also paid few fines)

Compare that with older-style. 2 cops at a red-light will typically fine 2-3 vehicles in a 10-minute window. It will probably not even cover the 'labour-cost/salary-cost' of the cops taking the challan. So it was necessary, new-tech be introduced and fines be increased.

All fine with having stricter measures and fines. But a clear redressal mechanism needs to there to dispute improperly or incorrectly issued fines. Absent that challan-happy cops will exploit the comfort afforded by advance technology to milk unsuspecting motorists. The traffic cops in part have or will become a mafia unto themselves.

[Jaguar]

This is what a biker friend was contemplating before covid stuck. Here in Bangalore, the cops take away the keys of the two wheeler and walk away. Only when the biker approaches the cop after parking the bike do they ask for documents or even note down the number. His idea was to make a few duplicate keys for Rs.50 each and keep ready in the pocket. The moment the cop walks away with one key, simply start the bike with a duplicate and zoom off.

[NG_EV]

Ruling from Delhi HC today that masks are mandatory even if driving alone in car. These types of orders make no sense. So watch out for traffic cops in Delhi.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities...le34260504.ece

[stewie]

I was just reading this thread on Sunday, and wouldn't you know it, i got a challan the same day!
They got me for not having mirrors on my bike at the signal near my house. I was on my way to TD 390 Adv and i did not want to spend time arguing, so i just paid up 100 bucks and left.
Is the no-mirror rule being applied in Pune as well? I had read about Delhi police action on bikes without them, wasn't aware it was being done in MH as well. Though I suspect the guy just ended up with that since my bike papers had no issues.

Since it was a jinxed day, i did not get to TD either because the Wakdewadi KTM showroom didn't have the bike around.

The only silver lining was that i discovered my PUC had expired after i got back home. I guess my confidence threw him off and he did not check my papers thoroughly, hehe.
So maybe the day wasn't jinxed after all

[SchrödingersCar]

Originally Posted by J4J

2 more points I follow to avoid challan are:
[list=1][*]Forget about free left. Many places with divided left lane for left turns are not free. A new person may not know this. I always think left turn not to be free and stop. Only if there is a visible sign that says left turn is free, I take the left.

Isn't it the other way around that when it says "No free left" that you stop for the light, else it is allowed by default?
Even in the US, it works the same way with the sign "No turn on Red" for right turns which require a Green light.

[matchvan]

Originally Posted by whitewing

To avoid getting fines, we should read the fine print. We have this wonderful example in Bangalore http://www.bangaloretrafficpolice.gov.in/spotfines.aspx. Till date I have not seen a lane based speed limit signboard on this road.

My friend, this here beats all the speed limits listed by Bangalore traffic police.
I wonder if any of you guys can find a similar speed limit sign!

[J4J]

Originally Posted by SchrödingersCar

Isn't it the other way around that when it says "No free left" that you stop for the light, else it is allowed by default?
Even in the US, it works the same way with the sign "No turn on Red" for right turns which require a Green light.

Yes it should be this way but what I have seen is the following:

Many left turns were free. Whe cameras got placed, they covered the whole zebra crossing. 90% of left that I used to take were not free after that. In some places boards were placed but with time, it is not present now. People who are frequent will know about this but a new person will definitely be confused.

There is one such red light near my house. The no free left board is placed 100m behind the zebra line and can be missed easily. People tend to look for it on the zebra line and get confused. If by chance they take the left, police is waiting to catch them. Once the vehicle ahead of me was confused. I could see him looking at me from IRVM, I signaled him to stop.

I've even seen red lights with both messages written. "Free left" and "no free left" on the same intersection.

The best of all are those signs that were initially "No free left" but the "No" part is erased now. Who will analyze if it got rubbed or the left turn is free now?

Now coming to a fourth red light. 5 months back "free left" board was there. But since last 2 months the board is not present. What should the people assume now?

Considering all of the above the, it will be safest to assume the left turn are not free by default. Yes, at times this assumption can be wrong but if one needs to drive avoiding challan, then this is the safest way.

[IshaanIan]

Bangalore is notorious for cops issuing fines without a care. Nearly every friend of mine from Hyderabad has been fined within their first day of driving in Bangalore for taking a free left. Many times they wait at areas that are clearly meant to have a free left; I'm talking about junctions where there is a triangular division on the left side to allow for the free left without obstructing the flow of traffic.

[Kottayamkaran]

I get challaned for overspeeding mostly. Most of the roads where I drive don't have any speed signs and Kerala is notorious for speed cameras. To avoid speed cameras i am now using various radar apps including Waze.

[SS-Traveller]

Installed RadarBot and drove around 50 km.

Conclusion:
It is an extremely intrusive app with tons of false positive alerts, for speed cams, but a lot more so for traffic light cams. For every 10 lights that RadarBot says there are traffic light cameras, 9 don't (there may be surveillance cameras there, but those are not used by Delhi Traffic Police to generate automatic challans - they are there for crash situations, to determine fault.

Originally Posted by NH08

Some questions for riding in Delhi:

1. My colleagues told me that there is no speed limit mentioned for motorcycles in most of the sign boards in Delhi. Is that true? If yes, then what is the speed limit for two wheelers in those areas?

I have noticed that while cars try to follow speed limits, motorcyclists do not unless there is physical presence of police.

The speed limit for two-wheelers is 50 kmph anywhere.

2. Is it true that speed cameras installed at traffic signals, poles are not able to capture motorcycle's registration number due to their smaller size?

The cameras can't capture number plates when one is keeping left on the extreme left lane.

3. Anybody received challan (not on-the-spot) for overspeeding the motorcycle?

No idea.

[redCherry]

Some people of Bangalore have "a different perspective" of Ways to avoid traffic challans.



Source : Prajavani Kannada Newspaper

[warrioraks]

Originally Posted by redCherry

Some people of Bangalore have "a different perspective" of Ways to avoid traffic challans.

That is pretty clever

On an unrelated topic, new speed cams are coming up in Gurgaon at a break-neck speed. Not surprising considering each camera has the potential to pay the exchequer a thousand times over!