Traffic violations double on city roads

Traffic violators paid Rs 9.58 crore in fines in 2007 against Rs 4.67 crore in 2006, said Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Sunil Kumar on Sunday.

Mr. Sunil Kumar told The Hindu that the police registered 30 cases involving deaths in road accidents on East Coast Road (ECR) during 2007 against 51 cases in 2006 and 72 in 2005.

Periodic counselling to follow road rules by student volunteers and traffic police had resulted in sizable decline in fatal accidents on ECR, he said.

The total number of fatal cases registered in the city during 2007 stood at 1,110 against 1,112 in 2006 and 1,166 in 2005.

Though the difference in the number of fatal cases between 2007 and 2006 was negligible, the number of new vehicles that had come to the roads increased, he said.

Apart from rash driving, offences such as drunken driving, jumping signals and lanes and failing to comply with helmet rule also doubled in 2007 compared with the previous year, he said.

It had come to light that 58,000 violators who were issued notices for various offences last year did not pay fine.