[Turbohead]

Originally Posted by FrozeninTime

Why does Chennai Traffic Police randomly stop automobiles and bikes at odd hours of the night, and ask driver their details like name destination, phone numbers and take photos and record them in in their notebooks, mobiles?

What legal justification does the government have for allowing this kind of surveillance?
I heard smilar tales from Ahmedabad. It’s nothing but illegal surveillance and inspiration is from China it seems.

Is it really illegal? They take your picture and upload in an app and they try to compare your face to known suspects.

They usually stop 2 wheelers for this. Cars are usually stopped for breathalyser checks only. Usually they don't even do that once they smell perspiration of young adults after a game of late night football.

[FrozeninTime]

Originally Posted by Turbohead

Is it really illegal? They take your picture and upload in an app and they try to compare your face to known

I would cite a well-known Star Trek phrase, "A matter of internal security." An old cry by The oppressor”
This is nothing more than a brazen abuse of authority to suppress individual freedom. In the name of security, we citizens happily submit without asking questions as to why it is needed.

[Gansan]

I sent my car for service yesterday morning through my SA. In the evening while bringing it back he called me at 7.40 p.m. when he started from the service centre at Guindy Indl estate. Then he called me after an hour saying traffic was heavy and he had reached only Pallavaram. Finally he reached my home at Chromepet at 9 p.m. He said traffic was crawling for the entire duration. My neighbor said he left Adyar by car around 6.30 p.m. and reached home after nearl two and a half hours. He said he was on first gear almost the entire stretch!

It had rained a couple of hours earlier, but not sure if that was the reason for such crawling traffic, especially on GST Road.

[raptor_diwan]

Originally Posted by FrozeninTime

Why does Chennai Traffic Police randomly stop automobiles and bikes at odd hours of the night, and ask driver their details like name destination, phone numbers and take photos and record them in in their notebooks, mobiles?

What legal justification does the government have for allowing this kind of surveillance?
I heard smilar tales from Ahmedabad. It’s nothing but illegal surveillance and inspiration is from China it seems.

Check this out answers to your precise questions can be found on this - Link

This FRT is in the form of a mobile application. A policeman can take a photo of someone’s face and compare it with a database of images from the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and System. It is supposed to help them immediately figure out the criminal history of the person.

“Facial recognition technology is used on accused, suspects and police verification cases in Chennai,” says Vinit Dev Wankhede, Additional Director-General of Police and Head of the State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB). “We use it selectively during night patrols. Every day, 10-100 matches occur. Plus, there are also many success stories where it has helped us nab criminals.”

“It eases solving cases and crime prevention,” he adds. For instance, let us imagine a criminal from Madurai has escaped to Chennai. A Chennai cop may not be familiar with Madurai criminals. But facial recognition technology would help the Chennai police identify criminals from other places immediately.

I don't think they take pictures every time. So far, they have never taken a picture of me. I regularly drive late at night, around 1 AM, near Chepauk or Marina Beach.They used to ask to open a car trunk to check it out and ask me to write my name, mobile number, and car number on their registry and then leave. This is for security purposes, and most of the time, they are polite and don't act rudely.

This is the first time I've heard of someone being subjected to FRT in Chennai. Were you driving a vehicle registered in TN, or was it from a different state? There might have been some unusual circumstances at that time because, from my experience, it's not a common occurrence.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Gansan

I sent my car for service yesterday morning through my SA. In the evening while bringing it back he called me at 7.40 p.m. when he started from the service centre at Guindy Indl estate. ... Finally he reached my home at Chromepet at 9 p.m. ...

There was light rain when I let home at around 3.45pm yesterday, driving from Palavakkam to Mylapore.

My return journey, begun at around 9.30pm, was in torrential rain and on flooded streets. By that time, traffic was not too bad --- and I kept mostly to my back-street routes anyway.

I do not know when the rain was at its worst in different areas, but you know how it is: it only takes a puddle to cause a bottleneck, because nobody wants to get their wheels wet.

I guess I was very lucky with my early/late travel times.

I'm sorry for your SA, who obviously paid for the weather with his entire evening!

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I'm sorry for your SA, who obviously paid for the weather with his entire evening!

Actually he was returning home from work! He lives near my Place and works for MSM. He himself books the service slot for my car, comes by his motorbike the next morning, leaves it at my home and takes my car to work! Completes the service there and on the way back home leaves the car at my place and takes his bike. Leaves the bill with my mother, after I return home I pay by scanning the QR code printed on the bill and send him a copy of the receipt by WA. It is a cozy arrangement!

That fellow was destined to spend time on the road last night, it would have happened whether my car was serviced or not!

[FrozeninTime]

At ten o'clock this evening, my family and I were driving, and I had stopped at a red light on Dr. Nair Road." Why should I stop behind you," the driver of a blue ignis behind me yelled as he began to honk continuously. I had to turn left onto EVR Periyar Salai Road to allow the person to go. However, the driver drove dangerously and again starting abusing me. I ignored him. At the EVR Road red light, we came to a standstill. This person, who comes out of his car and bangs on my window. I ignored him again. My wife seated in rear seat tries to reason with him and he then begins banging on the right rear door ofu car, while my wife and my 2-year-old kid are still in the back seat. No one stopped this man from insulting me and my wife, while the police van parked on opposite side, were blissfully unaware. I warned him that I will call police but decided not to pursue as I had family with me whose was top priority. This person stops at police van thinking that I will complaint and he can escalate.

P.S I don't know whether I did right or wrong but overall I never thought stopping in red signal will invite trouble.

I feel quite unsafe driving in Chennai after this incident be it in broad daylight or evening as there are many drivers waiting to pick fight.

[raptor_diwan]

Originally Posted by FrozeninTime

P.S I don't know whether I did right or wrong but overall I never thought stopping in red signal will invite trouble.

I feel quite unsafe driving in Chennai after this incident be it in broad daylight or evening as there are many drivers waiting to pick fight.

I'm really sorry to hear about this, but what you did was definitely the right thing when you're with family. Whether that person was drunk or just being a self-centered jerk, you could've thought about using your phone to record a video while letting them know you'd call the police. But be careful, things can get dicey if it escalates. Having a dashcam could be a good idea in such situations. Either way, don't let this incident get to you too much. Unfortunately, we do come across such people from time to time. Maybe consider getting a dashcam for some extra peace of mind.

No one stopped this man from insulting me and my wife, while the police van parked on opposite side, were blissfully unaware.

And definitely don't expect anyone to step in and break up the fight, that rarely happens in Chennai. I remember a while back I got into a heated argument with someone similar to the situation you described, It escalated into a full-blown fight, and we went at it for a solid 10 minutes right in the middle of the road. Surprisingly, not a single person intervened; they all just kept going about their business.

Just the other day, I saw this crazy situation. I was up on the top floor of Express Avenue, and right down on the entrance road, there was a guy beating up someone else. There was a whole crowd there, with EA security folks and auto-rickshaw walas among them, but not a single person did anything to stop it. They just stood around, some even found it funny, and then they all scattered. It's a sad reflection of how people tend to be these days.

[Secretariat]

Originally Posted by FrozeninTime

I never thought stopping in red signal will invite trouble.

Sadly, its no longer a given that you are in the right for stopping at a red light. I have been yelled, cursed at, banged on, etc etc innumerable times for stopping. It's a particular risk if you spot a vehicle sporting a party flag behind. There's also a real risk of being rear ended especially before 7.00 AM as there is a peculiar belief that traffic signals are not applicable before rush hour.

I follow the practice of going to the extreme edge of the road well ahead of a signal and stopping allowing everybody who wants to jump the red light to do so. If that's not possible, I still stop and endure the horns and curses. But if I see the driver behind getting down from the vehicle, I apologise to the Gods and jump the light, alas.

[thanixravindran]

Originally Posted by FrozeninTime

I don't know whether I did right or wrong but overall I never thought stopping in red signal will invite trouble.

I feel quite unsafe driving in Chennai after this incident be it in broad daylight or evening as there are many drivers waiting to pick fight.

You absolutely did the right thing. Don't expect any help from traffic police. They will just tell you to move on. Gone are the days traffic police are feared in Chennai by offenders.

I will narrate a small incident very similar to you last week.Within the layout I live which has zero traffic and wide roads in the outskirts, I encountered this.

A political flag waving real estate Innova driven by a driver was moving in front of me and suddenly stopped on seeing his friend in bike in middle of road to converse. Initially I thought I will cut to the right but on checking the mirror, saw a two wheeler, so braked to allow him to overtake me and moved to right. All of this is just around 30Km/hr speed and no other vehicle in a open 50ft road.

The two wheeler stopped in parallel to Innova and didn't allowed me to move and started arguing about why I didn't put indicator. I was with my wife and son and politely told the car ahead stopped abruptly and hence tried to overtake it but on seeing him I stopped.

He then started shouting expletives and I raised my voice asking him to move on. Seeing this the Innova driver came out (who started this drama) and warned the two wheeler driver to move on. After seeing the party flag, he moved on grumbling.

So yes people appear to be on short fuse, ready to pick up fights and willing to escalate quickly. We have to be calm to be safe.

Within city, I have pretty much stopped driving since the last year and use a call driver to move around.

[ksmrsm]

Originally Posted by FrozeninTime

At ten o'clock this evening, my family and I were driving, and I had stopped at a red light on Dr. Nair Road." Why should I stop behind you," the driver of a blue ignis behind me yelled as he began to honk continuously.

What you have done is absolutely right since you didn't want an altercation to happen.

Originally Posted by Secretariat

Sadly, its no longer a given that you are in the right for stopping at a red light.

Originally Posted by thanixravindran

Gone are the days traffic police are feared in Chennai by offenders.

So yes people appear to be on short fuse, ready to pick up fights and willing to escalate quickly. We have to be calm to be safe.

Traffic and people in Chennai have transformed over the last 40 years. Where I have found kindness in the most unexpected of places have now been replaced with fights, bickering and unruliness.

People these days have a very short fuse, especially if the sport the flag of some political parties.

Best is to keep quite and move on unless you are equally ready to shout or fight back.

[narayans80]

There is diversion on the city/north bound direction on GST just before Kilambakkam bus stand. Entire northbound lane is blocked for about 500 meters and diverted into 2 lanes on southbound direction. Only 1.5 lanes plus service lane is where southbound traffic is moving. It doesn’t look like an accident since there are earth movers parked and barricades are erected for traffic movement.

As of 400 p.m. southbound traffic was fine, northbound was backed up all the way till Urappakkam Komalas and has grown past Guduvancherry through the evening.

If this continues tomorrow avoid the stretch if you are heading out*this*weekend

[Makin Rulesz]

Toll collection at Navalur on OMR is stopped now. It is a good news for people travelling to Siruseri, Marina Mall and beyond.
Also, toll booths are dismantled at junction where OMR merges with ECR, next to Four Seasons hotel. With this OMR has become completely toll free.

[Makin Rulesz]

Watch your speed!

Cops book 184 cases for overspeeding

As per the new norms, the speed limit for Light Motor Vehicles is 60kmph and for Heavy Motor Vehicles it is 50 kmph. For two-wheelers and auto rickshaws, it is 50 and 40kmph respectively. But in residential areas, the speed limit for all types of vehicles is 30kmph.

[IamNikhil]

Another year of a flood-like situation in Chennai? Saw these videos and pics posted by locals in Chennai. Really sad.

https://x.com/Iyervval/status/1731550531632685403?s=20