After virtual complaint, traffic challan issued

Wednesday, Dec 29, 2010




After a girl made a complaint in the Delhi Traffic Police Facebook page that she had witnessed rash driving in south Delhi, stern action was taken and a 19-year-old management student and his retired ex-army man father were both issued challans.

"We received a complaint from a girl on Saturday that she had seen two cars racing in the Hauz Khas to Gurgaon stretch and had to stop her car as she would have been hit otherwise. She was able to provide the licence plate number of one of the cars, a Honda City. We tracked down the owner of the car to Rajouri Garden and discovered that his 19-year-old son had been driving the car on that date. Shockingly, he only had a learner's licence and that too had been issued on Monday, which means that he was not carrying a licence on the day of the complaint.

"We have issued a challan against the boy for rash and dangerous driving and a challan against the father for allowing an unauthorized person to drive," said joint commissioner of police (traffic) Satyendra Garg.

The boy, who studies in a management institute in Gurgaon, allegedly confessed to having driven rashly and was fined Rs 1500, while his father has been fined Rs 1000. Traffic officials also wrote to the licensing authority asking them not to make the errant driver's licence permanent. When the father of the driver was asked why he allowed his son to drive without a licence, he reportedly could offer only flimsy excuses.

This is not an isolated incident but a well-known feature of Delhi roads. Since March 2010, a staggering 29,226 persons have been issued challans for allowing unauthorized persons to drive, including minors or those not carrying licences. Another 31,206 persons have been caught driving without licence, claimed senior traffic officials. "We find so many people driving without a licence in Delhi that it is a wonder that people apply for licences at all. The problem has assumed glaring proportions," complained a senior traffic official.

Original news source http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/After-virtual-complaint-traffic-challan-issued/articleshow/7181890.cms#ixzz19U0XkJoI