[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by shreyascashyap

There is no mention of location or any photographic evidence. I've received a challan once with photo proof for overshooting the signal, why can't they do something similar for this?

Photographic evidence depends on how the violation was reported. If a violation reported via public-eye or a traffic constable, no photographic evidence is provided. I guess its only when reported via a Police CCTV that the photo evidence is provided.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by shreyascashyap

While I doubt the signal jumping violation - I never jump signals, even in the dead of the night, it may be that I might have taken a left where there was no free left or something of the sort. Likewise for the overshooting bit. But I'm completely confident I have never driven my car on top of a footpath!

Reminds me of the challan I received last month for a one way offence., which in actuality was something totally different and not a reason for a fine.

I was below the flyover which is now open that goes over two railway lines and connects to the Tumkur highway from the BEL circle on outer ring road.

Sometime last year, I was parked off the road on my bike and next to me were a bunch of cops and an Inspector randomly pulling over truckers and fining them and basically receiving bribes. This is a prime spot for them as I have noticed every time I have been there and instead of regulating the heavy traffic at that spot, they instead do this.

I was a bit away from them and truckspotting/trainspotting when I saw a truck of which I wanted a picture of. Knowing the cop would notice me, I candidly took a snap on my phone which the cop noticed since it was the same truck he was getting a bribe from. I made sure the cop wasn't in the frame when I clicked. Next he comes towards me and asks why did I take a picture and I had to explain much to his amusement that I am a HCV enthusiast and like to take pictures of few of them. He then asks me which area I stay in and my native etc. I answered all of them patiently and show him the picture which he wanted to see along with some other similar subject pictures i had on the phone. He seemed convinced and walks off.
All the while his face was masked with a kerchief probably due to the dust.

Last month I receive a challan for a one way offence in the same area for Rs100. I racked my brains for a while and then realised it was this cop who wrongly challan'd for whatever reason. Cheap thrills I would say.

Having said that, I am sure this type of cases or mix up of registration numbers would account for a low number cases.

[Sree73]

Originally Posted by tharian

Last month I receive a challan for a one way offence in the same area for Rs100. I racked my brains for a while and then realised it was this cop who wrongly challan'd for whatever reason. Cheap thrills I would say.

I have received a challan (actually it's there in Bangalore traffic police website - Not received an physical challan) for jumping the red signal at Magadi Road signal. I have not taken out my two wheeler for the last 1.5 years and in my life time did not go to this Magadi road area.

I think it's because of some policemen wrongly noting down the number. When I checked on RTO site, there is a same brand scooter with same number KA-53-U-xxxx (My number is KA-53-V-xxxx). May be this scooter have done the traffic violation and the bill is cut on me

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Better bookmark this link on your laptops / mobile devices AND check it weekly!

http://www.bangaloretrafficpolice.go...neDetails.aspx

I suddenly found a 100 buck fine for 'stopping on zebra crossing' - I am usually very very careful but have zero recollection of the incident. Plus it is very difficult to isolate and identify the situation later.

I got a similar one in Hyderabad for violating the stop line, with a photo of my car. But the photo was taken at a wrong angle and did not show the car crossing the stop line. I am normally very careful, so I did not pay and clicked on the link to report a wrong challan. The response i got was to visit the Cyberabad Traffic Police office. I tried to visit them a couple of times, but the concerned person was not around. Finally, as I discovered I was spending more on fuel than on the fine, I paid up.

[bharat4ever]

I too have a fine for not wearing a seat belt on 14th Jan 2017.
My Jetta screams it's head off if I don't wear a seatbelt. I always wear it, and my passenger wears it too. This fine is completely bogus. Posted to BTP and Abhishek Goyal on Twitter too.

[mustang_shelby]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Finally, as I discovered I was spending more on fuel than on the fine, I paid up.

I got 4 bogus challans last year on our Wagon-R that only my father drives. All the challans had offence location from the other end of the city (>15 km away) from an area that he had never visited ever. Infact, the car had not even been taken out of parking on 2 out of those 4 days, since my father was out of town.

I too felt that contesting the fines was going to be more painful than paying up, so I just paid the Rs 400 fine.

I believe photographic evidence should be a must for these challans, since many a time it might just be a mistake in noting down the number by the traffic cop and an innocent person gets fined. Shouldn't have been hard to come by in my case since all the challans were 'parked in no parking area'.

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

I got a similar one in Hyderabad for violating the stop line, with a photo of my car. But the photo was taken at a wrong angle and did not show the car crossing the stop line. ...I tried to visit them a couple of times ... I was spending more on fuel than on the fine, I paid up.

Originally Posted by mustang_shelby

I too felt that contesting the fines was going to be more painful than paying up, so I just paid the Rs 400 fine. I believe photographic evidence should be a must for these challans.

Quite true - I think the onus of proving guilt should rest with the police, and not down to individuals to fight it out to prove their innocence through a time-consuming process.

Given the revised targets for policemen, there is a likelihood that such instances might only increase.

To give this better visibility, it might help to start tweeting all such instances to the Bangalore Traffic Police twitter handle. If the complaints reach critical mass, BTP might take note (or maybe mainstream media).

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

Given the revised targets for policemen, there is a likelihood that such instances might only increase.

Let us call a spade a spade. Namma Bengaluru cops were never known to be serious about such minor issues as correctness of the challans or backing up accusations with adequate proof.

Though there have been umpteen number of false fines, not many contest them for want of time/to avoid the hassles of multiple trips to the police station/TMC. Hence, very few instances are picked up by the mainstream media. I have taken the liberty of quoting a report that appeared in The Hindu on 09/03/2016.

Fined for not wearing a helmet…in a car! In the second such case in recent times, the Bengaluru Traffic Police have sent a notice to M.S. Patil, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence, asking him to cough up Rs. 100 for not wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle in MICO Layout.

The catch here is that not only does Mr. Patil not ride a motorcycle, but the car ( in pic ) he owns has been grounded for a year.

In February, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State media in-charge Prakash S. received a notice by post for not wearing a helmet even though he commutes in a Toyota Innova car.

M.A. Saleem, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), said it could be a technical glitch.

“We send close to 10,000 notices each day. Everything is based on evidence. If it is a wrong challan, they can always come and clear it with us,” he said.

Original article available at: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/...cle8329033.ece

[dass]

I had two fines on my car in an area which I had not visited on the days I was not even in town. I told them I wont pay unless they showed me the proof and waited for over an year, along with regular feedback over twitter, email and FB. I kept copies of this communication with me, just in case someone stopped me and asked for those fines as well. Eventually, they removed the fines from my number. I did visit the PS and demanded to see the proof, which they did not have.

[suresh_gs]

This morning around 6 10 AM at Sarjapur signal junction, saw a collision between an auto and Chevy Enjoy. The auto's middle portion of the windshield was gone while the bumper of the Enjoy took a beating
Hopefully the vehicles are cleared before traffic piles up

[sachinpk]

Is today a public holiday of some sort? Saw lesser number of vehicles on the road, and reached office 10 mins before the usual ETA.

Originally Posted by supertinu

Btw I once got a fine for stopping on zebra crossing. Was sent a camera image as proof of my violation.

Same here. For me it happened inside Cubbon park. Had to park the vehicle at the available curb side, but only later knew that it was a "No Parking zone" (the board was there at the start of this road). I saw an ASI taking snaps of all vehicles (from a distance away). Knew it was my fault, so checked the web site a month later. The notice was there, and I paid the fine online. And I checked today, and no pending fines this time .

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

If a violation reported via public-eye or a traffic constable, no photographic evidence is provided. I guess its only when reported via a Police CCTV that the photo evidence is provided.

In many places traffic constables have been given digital cameras using which they are to snap pictures of the law violator vehicle, when the violation is being commited. And they are generally encouraged to come up with photographic evidence, rather than just noting down the number in their notebooks. In case of speed radar cameras generally it also shows the authorised speed limit, and the speed of the vehicle. In three cases (in two states) the police officers have shown me this still photograph, and were polite always.

Originally Posted by vnabhi

I am normally very careful, so I did not pay and clicked on the link to report a wrong challan. The response i got was to visit the Cyberabad Traffic Police office. I tried to visit them a couple of times, but the concerned person was not around.

Originally Posted by bharat4ever

I always wear it, and my passenger wears it too. This fine is completely bogus. Posted to BTP and Abhishek Goyal on Twitter too.

Originally Posted by mustang_shelby

I too felt that contesting the fines was going to be more painful than paying up, so I just paid the Rs 400 fine.

Originally Posted by arunphilip

Quite true - I think the onus of proving guilt should rest with the police, and not down to individuals to fight it out to prove their innocence through a time-consuming process.

Originally Posted by dailydriver

Though there have been umpteen number of false fines, not many contest them for want of time/to avoid the hassles of multiple trips to the police station/TMC.

Agree with all of you. The process of detecting traffic rule violations should change. One thing, I feel we should go back to the old way of "court deciding guilt/not guilty and imposing the fine". But if that has to be effective, there should be dedicated traffic courts or more judicial magistrate courts. Right now the MV Act fines are very less (but it can be jacked up any time), and many police forces have also made it convenient to pay the fine online. As many of you said at times it is better to pay up than make multiple trips to the police station.

Now a sad truth. All across the world Traffic law enforcement is also a revenue generator for the local governments. In US, "speed traps" are notorious. Many small town police departments survive because of the traffic citations they give. And even there the police men do not collect any spot fines, it has to be done by the courts. But these local courts invariably stand by the police man. So even there many people do not bother to contest the case but pay the fine by cheque/post. A friend of mine (Indian) did tell me that when he was in US he decided to contest a traffic ticket. It was in a small town in the adjacent county (of his residence). All gung-ho he lands up at the court, and then finds that the police man and judge were having a cup of coffee and chatting away to glory (before the court began to function). He knew what was next. He pleaded guilty and paid the fine. In India another friend of mine decided to contest an MV Petty case (Insurance certificate not in possession). He could have just sent a money order pleading guilty and with an amount of Rs.50. He contested, his lawyer goofed up and the magistrate levied a fine of Rs.400.

The Traffic Law enforcement is a tricky business all across the world. That is what I could make out from the number of web sites which talks about this (and also how to get away from tickets).
https://www.thrillist.com/cars/nation/the-worst-speed-traps-in-every-state
Speed Trap: What a Police Officer Uses to Catch You
Caught in a Speed Trap: Traps for the Wary

[eethanhunt]

Originally Posted by sachinpk

Is today a public holiday of some sort? Saw lesser number of vehicles on the road, and reached office 10 mins before the usual ETA.
====

Is it because it's St Patrick's day and a holiday in the US. NOT sure but a wild guess

Mod Note : Please quote ONLY the relevant bits of a post. Quoting a full, long post inconveniences our mobile readers.

Thanks!

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by bharat4ever

This fine is completely bogus. Posted to BTP and Abhishek Goyal on Twitter too.

Originally Posted by arunphilip

Quite true - I think the onus of proving guilt should rest with the police, and not down to individuals to fight it out to prove their innocence through a time-consuming process.

Originally Posted by sachinpk

Agree with all of you. The process of detecting traffic rule violations should change.

Here's my experience and this will be quite enlightening in terms of how the traffic police in Bangalore operate, of course it needn't be said that its always their word against mine and as usual, my word loses since I'm only a taxpayer, you know, paying the salaries to those who proceed to oppress?

Two penalties were found online for my vehicle, both for some minor violations, I believe one for jumping signals and the other for wrong parking - the time-stamp for one was 6 am in the morning and the other, 8 pm at night.

Here's the clincher - I never take out the car before 10 a.m, in fact a 9 a.m record was set 3 months ago just because I had to drop it to service and even then I was moaning about it to myself that I had to wake up and take bath at 8 a.m to do all this. I jumped a signal at 6 a.m? LOL. Here's the 2nd joke, my office is in the central business district of the city and my usual timings are between 11-7, I strictly drive only on the days I know I can get out by 6 sharp, traffic in those areas start piling up very quickly 5 minutes post 6. In other words if I'm driving its start at 6, reach by 7 (including any groceries shopping done) else if its post 6.30 it usually means I take an auto/Uber which itself is rare, I wrongly "parked" at 8 pm? Double LOL.

Here's my best guess, the authorities even if they note down a number from the registration wrongly, will get redirected to some other unsuspecting victim.. and without photographic evidence arguing it is moot. I have seen 5 megapixel 4K CCTV monitoring cameras that blur out from recording finer details, leave alone some stone-age era fuzzypixel camera erected 20 feet in the air by big-brother.

"God" save this nation.

[Mnjdnght]

My experience with BTP challan should probably also go to the Jokes thread

I was stranded at the Kundalahalli junction turning right from Kundalahalli Main Road onto Varthur main road (towards Marathahalli). Signal was green and I was behind a BTS bus taking the turn. Our hero decides to stop in the middle of the turn to pick up and drop passengers. Signal turned red, he moved on and I was stranded. A cop quickly directed me to turn left instead going towards Varthur to avoid blocking the junction which I did. Anyway I got a challan at home with a fine of Rs. 100 indicating it as a lane change violation. I promptly paid up. Now this happened in Nov 2012. At the time I had no regular need to travel to Whitefield and this was a one off after a very long time.

Life goes on and in Feb 2013 I get another challan for the same offence but with a Nov 2013 date. All details were exactly the same except the date. Quite futuristic of BTP, I thought, when I had no clue where I would be travelling the next week or month, that they have me a pre-emptive challan! I wrote back with evidence, uploaded the same on their FB page but for a while there was no action. I decided to let it be till it crossed path with me again at a later stage.

Recently (as a result of looking up something on this thread) I checked on their site for any violations against my number and there were none. So hopefully they have finally resolved it.

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by Mnjdnght

Life goes on and in Feb 2013 I get another challan for the same offence but with a Nov 2013 date. All details were exactly the same except the date. Quite futuristic of BTP, I thought, when I had no clue where I would be travelling the next week or month, that they have me a pre-emptive challan!

Hope you are aware of a joke in which the police officers of various countries go to a forest in search of tigers, as part of a competition. The Indian supercop doesn't even look in the direction of the woods. Instead, he gets hold of a cat, tortures it and takes an undertaking from the said cat which says - 'I am a tiger' .

Manufactured evidence is a historical truth. Can't blame our dear custodians of traffic for emulating that legacy.

On a lighter note, are you sure your Outlander (or was it your i10) is not a time machine that would have visualised your future to the cops?