8 crore traffic challans were issued in 2024. The total fines issued during the year stood at Rs 12,000 crore.

We are all too familiar with the road culture in India. It’s chaotic at best and often outright dangerous. Traffic rules are blatantly disregarded, resulting in accidents. According to a recent survey by Cars24, 40% of Indians don’t take traffic rules seriously. Just look at the number of challans that were issued last year.

8 crore traffic challans were issued in 2024. The total fines issued during the year stood at Rs 12,000 crore (Rs 9,000 crore remain unpaid). To put that into perspective, the fines collected in India exceeded the GDP of many small countries.

To learn more about how Indian drivers think about challans and road safety, Cars24 conducted a survey with 1,000 participants, and the results were astonishing.

Road rules are optional unless enforcement is visible

43.9% of drivers who took part in the survey claimed that they followed traffic rules, while 31.2% said that they checked if there were any police around before adjusting their driving. 17.6% said that they actively monitor their surroundings and adjust to avoid fines.

Compliance is fear-driven, rather than habit-driven

51.3% of the respondents said that they check their speed and ensure they are following the rules when they see a traffic cop. 34.6% slow down instinctively, even when they are not breaking rules, while 12.9% adjust their driving or take a detour to avoid getting caught.

Technology cannot change driving behaviour unless penalties are severe

CCTV cameras monitoring traffic movement do not seem to have much of an effect on driving behaviour. 47% claimed that they drive the same way, while 36.8% said that they slow down when they spot a camera. Except for speed cameras, 15.3% of the drivers ignored roadside cameras.

The survey suggests that fines are minor inconveniences for drivers rather than deterrents. 60.3% of drivers said that they would follow traffic rules if fines were doubled. Shockingly, 20.4% said they would still take risks.

Then, there are the 14.2% of individuals who would negotiate their way out of a challan. Speaking of which, 38.5% admitted they had paid a bribe once or twice, and 15.9% said they do it often. 29.2% claimed that they always paid fines the right way.

The data shows that people admit they adjust rules based on the situation and not because they believe in following them. So, until we shift from compliance out of fear to discipline out of belief, no amount of enforcement can improve the situation.

A few solutions that could deter habitual offenders and make our roads safer:

• Strong penalties with severe consequences for non-payment of dues. These can include suspension of driving licenses, increased insurance premiums, and legal actions.
• Leveraging technologies like AI-based real-time monitoring and instant penalty systems.
• Developing platforms where citizens can report traffic violations.
• Creating awareness by integrating road safety education into school curriculums and conducting regular refresher courses for license renewals.

Points will be awarded for each traffic offense, and the driving license can be suspended or cancelled once the points cross a certain threshold.

The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways is planning to introduce a penalty points system for traffic violations similar to several other countries. Points will be awarded for each traffic offense, and the driving license can be suspended or cancelled once the points cross a certain threshold.

The government recently held a brainstorming session on road safety that was attended by state government representatives, experts, NGOs, and other stakeholders. During the session, the ministry shared a framework for the implementation of the proposal.

According to a government official, the new points system will include both demerit and merit points, with the latter being awarded for good driving behaviour and to good Samaritans.

The government also plans to make driving tests mandatory for those seeking to renew their driving license if they have violated traffic rules. A learner’s license for low-speed EVs could also be introduced as part of the next amendment.

Source: ET Auto

I wrote an email with a picture of my number plate and a few days later the fines were removed, note particularly the conciseness of the email and the response as well

BHPian tc89 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

I opened the Acko app for checking some details on my CB300R and discovered that there are 2 traffic violation fines on the vehicle on opening the violation images I was laughing they had fined a white coloured Access 125 with the same number as mine but the difference was my number plate has the letters KA03 KY and the access was a KA03 KV.

However I wasn't paying ₹1000 for a fine for somebody else and that too for an error by the traffic police, i was looking to go to the Indian express traffic center to get this corrected but was also looking for a simpler means (read online), Vaahan portal had a section specially for this and as expected it didn't work !!

A few days later I happened to approach a traffic constable lounging leisurely near Shantinagar bus stop and asked him advice on what to do
He shared the following 2 email addresses.
bangloretrafficpolice@gmail.com and
automationpubbcp@ksp.gov.in and was confident one of them would surely reply.

So i wrote the following email with a picture of my number plate and a few days later the fines were removed, note particularly the conciseness of the email and the response as well.

Frankly I was just shooting an arrow in the dark but I seemed to have hit my mark.
Thanks to the Bangalore Traffic Police team as well!!

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

During the case, the JMFC asked how much I was willing to pay. Judges are usually considerate, just refrain from arguments or any contest with them.

BHPian Flyingdutchman recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

I had a similar experience of sort but decided to proceed different way. The traffic department usually organises Lok Adalat with the JMFC bench every year or so. You may receive an SMS with a detailed notice about the same. Make sure to be present on the given date at court.

There will be many lawyers roaming around the premises. You can avail their services for ₹ 200/300. The fine amount can be negotiated within the court. Judges are usually considerate, just refrain from arguments or any contest with them.

In my case, I went on the mentioned date, booked a lawyer from outside for ₹300, and got a hearing within 45 min. Total fine was around ₹12,000. Almost all of them were generated at the Bhor Ghat stretch on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway within a year. I guess in the ghat section, the speed limit is somewhere around 50kmph and captured speed was somewhere around 60-70kmph.

During the case, JMFC asked how much I was willing to pay. I mentioned half of it. He passed the order. I paid half of it to the registrar/clerk person sitting there. Challans were removed from RC. Got out within 30 min.

I really wanted to experience the whole Lok Adalat deal, but it was honestly smoother than I had expected.

Btw, you can ask those outside lawyers to represent you on your behalf so that you can go about your work but they do charge extra for that.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

I received a wrong challan today. The violation is jumping red signal but the thing is I'm actually turning left.

BHPian IndieGooner recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

I received a wrong challan today. The violation is jumping red signal but the thing is I'm actually turning left.

In the image my car is the one on left which appears to have jumped the signal, but I'm only turning left for which the green signal is visibly on. Also, my left indicator can be seen to be blinking as well. I'm cutting a wider arc because of water logged potholes on the corner.

Now the challan only states that I'm charged with
"Driving dangerously by jumping a red light.You are hereby warned that the question of prosecuting you would be taken in to consideration. ( Explanation (a) of S184 RW )". There is no fine amount or any direction on what I'm supposed to do. Anyone has any idea on what needs to be done? Will it be any help filing grevience in parivahan portal?

Meanwhile,BHPian jbpanda too, shared his experience in this matter:

I got a SMS yesterday from Vaahan about an over speed challan for ₹2000 on 24 November 2024. I checked e-Parivahan App and found the details of the challan which appears to have been issued at Kanpur on Agra-Lucknow Expressway. Surprisingly, I have not travelled out of Delhi NCR whole of November and until today in December. No images were also attached to the challan. Have raised a dispute on the challan on the e-Parivahan App by attaching my Fastag Statement which got converted into an email and was sent today. Email ID is helpdesk-mparivahan@gov.in. This is unnecessary harassment considering I drive within speed limits and have never got a speeding challan ever on any of my cars. Wanted to check if there is any experience of fellow Bhpians in successfully getting such frivolous challans withdrawn on the basis of raising dispute online/ email. Thank you

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

I checked the Vahan portal and the car had no fine pertaining to it.

BHPian ajmat recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Received this today on WhatsApp.

Most notifications happen on SMS. This car is used by my wife and in her words "You would be most impressed if I got a speeding fine"

This had a very dodgy apk file attached to it. I checked the Vahan portal and the car had no fine pertaining to it.

The leak must have happened at RTO, Dealer, Fasttag agent, or insurance. Have blocked and reported this

Here's what BHPian thanixravindran had to say on the matter:

When did our RTO 'regret' to inform about the violation and fine. They are happy to increase the state revenue

But I sincerely wish RTO folks 'learn' the polite tone of scammers and be ready to share the evidence

Jokes apart, these APK attachments are dangerous as many will click without thinking and it may be an application to take control of the phone by the scammers.

Here's what BHPian SmartCat had to say on the matte

It is quite unprofessional for Karnataka RTO to put a baby's photo as DP:

Sending APK files seems to be a popular strategy. I got this message:

I called up ICICIBank begging them not to "lodablock" my account.:

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The traffic police can challan a driver with the permission of higher authorities.

The Gurgaon DCP Traffic has issued new guidelines for traffic personnel deployed at night. As per the instructions, no challans shall be issued to vehicles at night to avoid driver inconvenience. However, if necessary, the police can challan a driver with the permission of higher authorities.

“It has come to the notice of the undersigned that the traffic police personnel deployed at night are unnecessarily stopping vehicles of common people and harassing them and are also unnecessarily issuing challans for vehicles,” the department said.

The letter also highlighted the duties of the traffic personnel deployed at night. The personnel should focus more on guiding and helping common people and drivers.

“The traffic personnel deployed at night should play an important role as Traffic Police by guiding and helping the common people and drivers and arranging safe routes to take them to their destinations and in case of a road accident. The injured persons should be immediately admitted to the nearest trauma centre and the accident-hit vehicles should be immediately removed from the main road and traffic should be allowed to run smoothly.”

According to media reports, the new guidelines aim to enhance the convenience of commuters and reduce delays, when travelling at night.

Source: TOI

What is worse, the physical post comes after 10 days and the case has already been forwarded to a virtual court, though no date is visible in the portal.

Thanks to the Team-BHP fan (he prefers to remain anonymous) who sent this in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP share page!

Dear Members,

I have recently come across cases where there is no obvious way to avoid automated fines. One with my cousin in Gurgaon, and the current case mentioned below with my wife in Delhi. I wonder if these are simply money-collection schemes by the respective governments.

It goes like this, you are in the middle of traffic trying to cross a red light. Just when you have crossed the Lakshman Rekha (the stop line), the traffic in front of you slows and the light turns amber.

Now you have two possibilities:

• Follow through and cross the intersection. This runs the risk that you will be fined by a waiting cop on the other side. Plus, this is usually the "unethical" option because you could easily block the incoming traffic for a significant duration of their own green light time.
• The other option is to stop as soon as you find outcrossing is not a good idea. You can try reversing a few metres but usually, cars have queued up behind you already and this is not possible. So, you just wait where you stopped.

My wife chose the second option, and guess what, she gets a Rs 5000 fine for "crossing a red light"! (see attached image). What is worse, the physical post comes after 10 days and the case has already been forwarded to a virtual court, though no date is visible in the portal.

Would love to hear Team-BHP members' thoughts on this and what our next steps should be.

Here's what BHPian mygodbole had to say on the matter:

OK, I will stick my neck out.

As far as I know, traffic rules dictate that (a) look before you enter an intersection; and (b) enter only if you have a path ahead that will allow you to clear the intersection.

Traffic cameras 'assume/presume' you are aware of the above; thus the violation.

The only solution I know of is to stop behind the stop line, ignore all the honkers behind and cross only when the way to the other side is all-clear.

The all-clear depends on many factors, including and not limited to, impatient riders/drivers wanting to cross since their signal is green.

Difference, as mentioned in a Hindi film, between well-trained and educated.

Drive safe.

Here's what BHPian condor had to say on the matter:

While there is no mention of the city/location where this happened:

This car has crossed the pedestrian crossing, and is a violation, even if the category of violation may not be correct.

The fine amount does look high.

About 2 years back, on Kanakapura Road in Bangalore, I wanted to turn right but since there were cars ahead of me waiting to turn right, I stopped. What happened was - I am right on the lines marking the crossing. The lights changed, I had to wait there - along with couple of other cars to my left. Result ? A fine of 1000/-.

What makes things crazy there: The pedestrian crossing lines end right at the pillar - not going through to the other side of the road. Pretty much like the silver car there, but 3 feet further. I did have a thought to go straight, since the straight was a green. Instead to chose to wait and ended up with a fine.

Here's what BHPian SS-Traveller had to say on the matter:

Every intersection controlled by traffic lights is actually deemed to be a 'yellow box junction', and violation of the same will result in fines. Once drivers understand the concept of such box junctions, they would be less likely to get penalized. OTOH, you can see at the link above that British drivers too are cribbing about the unfairness of fines related to box junction violations.

Here's what BHPian pepega had to say on the matter:

At such intersections where I am stopped at the red light or passing on green but the light turns, I usually press the emergency recording button on my dash cam.

I have heard that there is a way to dispute the fines by emailing them dash cam footage of you being stopped whereas their record might say that you've crossed based on a still image, or where you passed on green but their record says you passed on red.

If we don't actively dispute these fines, we'll all get needlessly fined out of thousands of rupees every year. Especially since a lot of these cameras are at "trap" junctions. A lot of the speedcams are also in similar spots, where the speed suddenly goes down from 80 to 50 right where a camera is, with little warning or even a bush covering the official speed limit sign. Well, that's a discussion for the "Are indian roads poorly designed?" thread.

I think they're designed quite well, if the intent is to create revenue for traffic departments. The more ambiguity in road design and rules, the higher chances of someone getting fined arbitrarily, and that's where the system profits from road drivers. Traffic police tax is an additional tax that we pay along with GST, Cess, Road Tax and Tolls. Unspoken cost of driving a car in India.

Here's what BHPian HTC had to say on the matter:

I feel that the exorbitant amount for traffic fines is only serving two purposes. Firstly filling government coffers. They have to give freebies to their vote bank people which they promised during election (a.k.a 'bhagyas' in Kannada). Secondly, it increased the minimum bribe amount. before people used to give 50rs or 100rs bribe and escape. But now, stakes are high. minimum files are around 1000rs and cops will not accept anything below 500rs. All this applicable to well dressed, office going common man. Same cops will turn a blind eye towards traffic violations by lower income group citizens (eg mechs,labourers etc) as they are sure they will not be able to extract money from them and waste their valuable time to serve the country ahem .

Ideally, high fines should serve as deterrants. But what can you do when the infrastructure, technology and the people are not prepared to implement the laws. I have seen traffic cops violating rules blatently. not wearing proper helmet, not wearing helmet properly, using one way to avoid round abouts ( example - at audugodi police quarters gate just before forum signal) and many more. Now where doesn't the law apply to them. Even more, I have seen cars parked at no parking zone even blocking and choking the junction near Jayangar 4th block police station. Looks like some kind of understanding between the cops and hotels around that traffic cops can't notice the violations right outside their station gates. The list goes on.

The free left turn rule is so pathetic. As per them, at only those signals having board saying free-left-turn, one is allowed to take free left turn. But they have not put such boards where all its applicable. also, to add to the confusion, they have boards like 'no-free-left-turn' at select few signals. its all left to their interpretation to put fine or collect bribe. Even the traffic signals do not work as intended. from green, they turn to red directly. It is difficult to take split second decision as to stop or continue as there will be vehicle tailing you.

To add to this, they are installing high quality cameras which will put fine 24/7. there are two such signals on double road between lalbag gate and jayanagr metro station. Even though I had stopped little close but well behing the stop line at that signal, a cop on a two wheeler asked me to move a little back as the camera would still consider me as stading on the stop line due to the angle of camera which is positioned from behind.

In a nut shell, I am all for strict rules provided they are implemented uniformly and after thinking through the realistic scenarios. till then - its clearly a money making tool for men in power. I rest my case

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Repeat offences could result in the suspension or cancellation of the vehicle’s RC.

The Noida Police has issued a warning stating that drivers who receive more than three traffic violation challans could have their driving licenses cancelled.

The police said, “Action will be taken to cancel the license of a person who receives more than three consecutive challans for offences such as jumping red lights, over-speeding, overloading, carrying passengers in goods vehicles, using a mobile phone while driving or driving under the influence of alcohol.”

The Noida police have also stated that repeat offences could result in the suspension or cancellation of the vehicle’s registration certificate (RC).

As per reports, the Noida and Greater Noida region witnessed around 1,000 road accidents this year, resulting in nearly 400 deaths. This prompted the state transport commissioner to direct the police to take stricter action against traffic violators.

Source: ET Auto

The eChallan service will benefit car owners, especially those who drive inter-state regularly or are on a cross-country road trip.

Cars24 has rolled out a new eChallan service that enables private car owners to settle their pending traffic challans through the Cars24 website and mobile app.

Here's a step-by-step guide to paying your traffic challan on Cars24:

• Visit the Cars24 eChallan section
• Enter our vehicle number
• Any pending traffic challans will be displayed once you enter your vehicle number
• Find the challan you want to pay, and click on the “Pay Now” button, which is displayed under every pending challan
• You will receive a notification from Cars24 once the settlement is completed

Cars24 claims to simplify the process of managing traffic penalties across inter-state traffic departments. According to the company, the new eChallan service will benefit car owners, especially those who drive inter-state regularly or are on a cross-country road trip.