Not a single challan issued for vehicles without side mirrors

Said Bani Singh, a Class XI student, “Taking up the cause of traffic safety for our tGELF project, we had identified two major traffic hazards not usually highlighted: blinding of road intersections and non-use of side-view mirrors.”

The students did an observational study of about 1,000 four-wheelers and a similar number of two-wheelers in order to check the usage of side-view mirrors. “We found that side-view mirrors were mostly neglected. As many as 574 two-wheelers had no side-view mirror and 80 cars were found without the facility,” Bani said.

They said that many people did not follow lane driving in the city and could be seen cutting across lanes. On top of that, they did not open the side-view mirrors, which increased the risk of a crash. Not using the side-view mirror is against the traffic rules, but not a single challan has been issued by the police this year, Bani said.

CS Grewal, Chief Traffic Marshal, agreed that people on two-wheelers seldom used side-view mirrors and they could often be seen turning their neck around to see if some vehicle was coming behind. “Side-view mirrors play a crucial role. I will brief the staff to check the side mirrors of vehicles and challan those who do not have these mirrors on their vehicles, or don’t use these,” he added.

But Maneesh Chaudhry, SSP, Traffic and Security, said, “I first have to check the Motor Vehicle Act if there is any provision to challan people for not using side mirror while driving. In case there is a provision, then we will start challaning such people.”

The students also noted that people sometimes grew high hedges on the open spaces beside their houses on a turn, which restricted the view of oncoming vehicles and increased the risk of a collision.