1.6 lakh bikers caught riding without helmets, fatal mishaps on the rise

As recent as Thursday, helmetless Himanshu Waghmare rode on the wrong side of the road in a bid to avoid a penalty and seriously injured a pedestrian. Prior to that, 18-year-old Prajot Chande was killed in a hit-and-run on Katol road on Wednesday morning. Given incidents like these, it’s no wonder that motorists in the state’s second capital have won the dubious distinction of flouting traffic rules and regulations.Nagpur ranked 18th among 53 cities in India in terms of all traffic offences in 2014, while the city was fourth in Maharashtra, according to a National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) report.
Around 1.60 lakh bikers in Nagpur were penalized for not wearing helmets this year alone. The city ranks higher than Mumbai when it comes to drunk driving and is only second to Mumbai and Pune in rash driving.
Police action against drunk driving in the city resulted in 23,153 cases being registered from January to September 2016, while Mumbai police booked 13,648 people for driving under the influence. Pune police booked only 19,396 persons. Similarly, while Mumbai was in the top slot for rash driving, Nagpur came a close third for the second consecutive year with a total 2,378 cases registered in the past two years.
Nagpur traffic police have identified 25 spots prone to rash driving. On an average, three to four cases of rash driving or road rage were reported in 2014-15, according to the NCRB report released this month. In February, city police booked 38 motorists in a single day for rash driving and the department seized 10 motorcycles after their riders were caught indulging in stunts.
The spate of recent accidents in the city has even prompted traffic police to propose the installation of CCTV cameras at important junctions (see box). “We have held meetings with experts to curb traffic violations and reduce accidental deaths. Drives against helmetless riders are conducted. Most cases of traffic violations and rash driving involve youngsters. The CCTV project will take some time but will be helpful once implemented,” said K Venkatesham, commissioner of police.
A traffic police study found most violations involved two-wheelers. Of the 9,73,364 traffic violations recorded in the last four years, 55% involved two-wheelers. The study found most riders flout every traffic norm — from driving without a helmet to jumping red lights, riding at high speed, rash driving, and cutting across lanes. Deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Smartana Patil said most violators were youngsters and the department penalized 5.39 lakh riders from January 2013 to July 2016.
The study also found most offenders were caught in South Nagpur division, with 2.3 lakh motorists penalized between January 2013 and July 2016. It was followed by North zone penalizing 1.93 lakh errant motorists, West with 1.92 lakh, East had 1.5 lakh, Indora 92,060 and MIDC 89,646 motorists.
Additional director-general (prisons) Pune, B K Upadhyay said while strict enforcement of traffic rules was lacking, there was hardly any deterrence as fines were too low. While Nagpur cops claimed penalizing offenders and increasing the fines have failed to deter traffic offenders, citizens claimed fewer cases were registered due to corruption.
Traffic expert Vinay Kunte said. “If traffic police send the message that there is no option but to wear helmets, bikers will fall in line,” he said. “Traffic cops at various junctions don’t issue any challan. Instead, they are minting money from the violators and allowing them to escape,” said lawyer Tushar Mandlekar.