The increasing number of accidents and deaths in Dehradun are a cause for concern. The Director General of Police Satyavrat had recently said that he strongly dislikes people talking on the mobile phone while driving vehicles.
However, while the citizens remain apathetic to their own safety and traffic regulations, even the police have not yet started clamping down on this violation with many policemen themselves continuing this dangerous practice. People talking on the mobile phone while riding two-wheelers or driving cars and even heavy vehicles is a common sight in the State capital. The police occasionally penalises such traffic violators but otherwise mostly ignores this violation considering it to be ‘trivial’.
An alarmingly large number of people in Dehradun are unaware that talking on the mobile phone while driving can earn them a penalty. A student, Pooja Suri stated, "I know it is risky to use the phone while driving but a lot of people always have the fear of missing some important call. I met with an accident a year back and since then I avoid using the phone whenever I drive. If something is very urgent then I park my vehicle away from the main road and then talk on the phone," she said.
According to information provided by the police, 164 challans were issued to those caught talking on the phone while driving in Dehradun in May. Observers point out that the number of people penalised for this violation is miniscule compared to the number of people indulging in this practice and not penalised by the police. Between January and May 2013, a total of 972 challans were issued in such cases. A traffic police constable, Ram Singh stated, "We do our duty with full honesty and do not let the violators of law get away so easily. Many times young boys and girls cry in front of us in order to leave them but we treat everyone with equality. People need to understand that all that we do is for their safety not ours, "he stressed.
Sub-Inspector Virendra Singh Rawat who handles the traffic issues in the city said, "Talking on the mobile phone certainly is a very dangerous thing to do while driving. There are two types of challan; one where the head constable can issue a challan and the further proceeding takes place in the court and the other where officers senior to the head constable (Sub Inspector and above) can charge a penalty of upto Rs 500 on the spot.
“Talking on the phone distracts a person. To keep a tab on this and other traffic violations we have recently installed 19 new CCTV cameras in addition to the 13 cameras already installed in different areas of the city. New proposal to install CCTV cameras at various crossings is under consideration and we are doing the best we can. "
Though the police is acting against such traffic violators, a lot more needs to be done and public awareness needs to be raised in order to minimise it.