Traffic rule violations increase in Mumbai compared to 2018

If the latest data released by the traffic police is anything to go by, road safety violations in the city have seen a marked rise in the first eight months of this year.

Till August-end, the police had caught 26,588 motorists for using mobile phones while driving, more than 26,241 cases reported in the whole of 2018.

As many as 2,58,626 motorbike-riders were penalised for not wearing helmet as of August-end, more than double the 1,21,142 cases reported in 2018.

As many as 20,077 motorists were penalised for driving without seatbelt till August, compared to 17,972 last year.

A total of 10,092 cases of drunken driving have been reported in the last eight months, whereas 11,711 cases were registered in 2018.

The number is falling drastically in the case of over-speeding, it appears. The police issued 92,601 'challans' (fine receipts) for speed-limit violation this year, against 7,77,600 challans during the whole of 2018.

Joint commissioner of police (Traffic) Madhukar Pandey said, "Taking this data into consideration, we are going to hold seminars in schools, colleges and other institutions to create awareness about road safety. We are also planning to use social media tools like Twitter to educate people about traffic norms."