Road discipline, after all, may soon be a reality on Mumbai's streets. The traffic department of the Mumbai police is pondering over the issue, charting a game plan to drill more driving sense into motorists in the city.

 

The department is now planning to focus on petty offences, which until now were not in the priority list. These include offences such as lane cutting, parking in no parking zones and using tinted glasses above the permissible limits among other things.

A concentrated and sustained campaign will yield desired results, they believe. And why not; the department successfully cracked down on serious offences such as drunken driving and over-speeding. "Like foreign countries, we too want greater discipline on Mumbai roads," said a senior traffic official, requesting anonymity. "Once the crackdown is sustained, motorists will not violate rules and regulations," he added.

Like in previous campaigns, the traffic police are clear that they will not entertain calls from "influential" people to let go the offender. Incidentally, this has been a major contributing factor to the success of other campaigns. "An offender is an offender and we will treat them like one," said the officer.

The traffic policemen deployed on the streets were put through training programmes as part of a refresher course to hone their traffic management abilities. However, the traffic police are also sensitive to the tempers of motorists due to repair or construction work being carried out at almost every junction. "Naturally, the tempers will be high due to congested roads and road diversions. We may discount a few on extraordinary grounds. But discipline will be of highest importance," said a policeman, posted at the Dadar flyover.

Senior traffic official: Like foreign countries, we too want greater discipline on Mumbai roads. Once the crackdown is sustained, motorists will not violate rules."

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