'We will crack down on drivers refusing to ply'

The traffic department of the Mumbai Police will take the meter jam campaign to the next level by cracking down on drivers who refuse to ply short distance. The department also wants to run a campaign in colleges against drunken driving. Nandkumar Chaugule, deputy commissioner of police, traffic, in an interview with DNA says the department will install 1,000 new CCTV cameras for better monitoring and regulation of traffic on city streets.

Will the police take errant taxi and auto drivers to task?
Yes. Based on feedback from people and our staff, we realised that the number of such drivers is on the rise. Harried commuters, especially women and youngsters, are at the receiving end. They just refuse to ply. So, we have decided to crack the whip on errant drivers like we did during our campaign against drunken driving. We will keep the campaign running for a long time so that it is successful.

What have you planned about repeat offenders (taxi and auto drivers)?
Now, we just fine them. We found several repeat offenders during our drives. Since the law is not too harsh, we call the repeat offenders and try to counsel them. We try to tell them how people are inconvenienced when they refuse to ply. Some times we let them go with a strict warning.

Would you give the media any credit for making the meter jam campaign a success?
Yes, of course. The media helped in creating awareness and generating public support. The traffic department had earlier collaborated with various newspaper organisations to create awareness. But the three youngsters used a social networking site to gather support; and I must say the response was good. We realised that such sites are a potent tool to create awareness among youngsters.

What about your campaign against drunken driving; what is the present status?
The campaign is not over. But after analysing the daily figures we found out that the number of offenders was not rising. The chart stabilised. That is when we realised that we need to go beyond policing and enforcing the law.

We started holding awareness campaigns in colleges about the hazards of driving under the influence of alcohol.

We wanted to ‘catch them young’ and educate them about the ill-effects of drunken driving. Several offenders are between 18 and 25. And educating them holds the key. We have got a good response from colleges.

Several motorists have said that the breathalysers are faulty. They wanted blood tests…
Yes, they did approach the court alleging that blood tests would be better than breathalysers. But the court directed them to comply with the rules of the police. The drive also got a shot in the arm after the traffic department bought 90 more breathalysers in July. Earlier, we had just 50.

Is the department considering the option of blood tests?
We are not dismissing the idea. We are looking for an equipment that can examine blood as well as breath.

How do you plan to ensure better monitoring of traffic?
We will have CCTV cameras at every traffic junction. At present, there are 105 CCTV cameras installed; we plan to install another 1,000 and connect them to the traffic control room and the main control room. Apart from monitoring the traffic, it will also help us keep tabs on law and order.