Dinesh Kamath's news 'Traffic policemen told not to spare even women who violate traffic rules' that was published in Newsband

Traffic policemen told not to spare even women who violate traffic rules

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: There is a common belief that men are the ones who flout traffic rules all the time. But the fact is that now the time has changed. Nowadays many girls and women are found violating the traffic rules many a times. They could be girls from colleges or housewives who drive mo-bikes.

The policemen tend to overlook the violation of traffic rules by females and they are left just with a warning. But violation of traffic rules by women has become so common that the authorities of Navi Mumbai traffic department have issued orders to all the traffic policemen to not spare women even if they break the traffic rules. They have been told to take to task women who violate MV Act. They have been ordered not to fine just male violators of traffic rule but also the women who fail to abide by traffic laws while driving. The authorities said that such stringent measures will create fear among the women drivers and they will drive carefully to avoid paying the penalty in case they get caught.

It has been found that just like some men, women too violate traffic laws by not wearing helmets, indulging in triple riding or speed-driving, on talking on mobile phones while driving. The authorities of traffic department have given orders to all the traffic policemen to penalize all these female culprits who violate MV Act.

There are women who drive two-wheelers with more than one school-going kid sitting behind them. They neither fear the possibility of meeting with accident nor do they care if they are caught violating MV Act by the traffic policemen.   

But now the traffic police is determined to implement traffic rules extremely strictly and be equally strict with both men and women violators of traffic laws. The thing is there is no provision in the law which says that women are allowed to violate the traffic laws which men break. The traffic law is the same for both men and women. The traffic department has now started posting police women too on the roads so that they can tackle the women violators of traffic rules.

An expert on traffic matters said, “Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars, buses and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel. Traffic laws are the laws which govern traffic and regulate vehicles, while rules of the road are both the laws and the informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly and timely flow of traffic. Organized traffic generally has well-established priorities, lanes, right-of-way, and traffic control at intersections. Traffic is formally organized in many jurisdictions, with marked lanes, junctions, intersections, interchanges, traffic signals, or signs.

Traffic is often classified by type: heavy motor vehicle (e.g., car, truck); other vehicle (e.g., moped, bicycle); and pedestrian. So women almost all the time belong to the second category – the ones who drive mo-bikes. Rules of the road and driving etiquette are the general practices and procedures that road users are required to follow and these road users include women too. They are not made exceptions. These rules usually apply to all road users, though they are of special importance to motorists and cyclists. These rules govern interactions between vehicles and with pedestrians. As a general rule, drivers are expected to avoid a collision with another vehicle and pedestrians, regardless of whether or not the applicable rules of the road allow them to be where they happen to be. In addition to the rules applicable by default, traffic signs and traffic lights must be obeyed. These rules should be distinguished from the mechanical procedures required to operate one's vehicle.

Traffic going in opposite directions should be separated in such a way that they do not block each other's way. Vehicles often come into conflict with other vehicles and pedestrians because their intended courses of travel intersect, and thus interfere with each other's routes. The higher the speed of a vehicle, the more difficult collision avoidance becomes and the greater the damage if a collision does occur. Therefore, the traffic department has limited the maximum speed allowed on their roads. Vehicles are not supposed to be driven at speeds which are higher than the posted maximum. To enforce speed limits, two approaches are generally employed. It is common for the police to patrol the streets and use special equipment (typically a radar unit) to measure the speed of vehicles, and pull over any vehicle found to be in violation of the speed limit. Nowadays there are computerized speed-measuring devices spread throughout the city, which will automatically detect speeding drivers and take a photograph of the license plate (or number plate), which is later used for applying and mailing the ticket. So both men and women speed-drivers should be extremely careful.”