Road accidents have been a major cause for concern across the Indian subcontinent. The country holds the record of the highest number of deaths due to road accidents. The police often take innovative steps to curb the menace of criminals and rule violators. Sometimes, these steps can seem harsh, other times, not so much and at times amusing as well These steps are taken to keep notorious elements of the society in check and to make them pay for their unscrupulous deeds.
Moradabad Police’s unique idea of ‘punishing’ traffic rule violators of the district is nothing like we have ever seen before. In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, Traffic SP of Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, IPS officer Ashok Kumar shared details about the same.
A GIFT FOR TRAFFIC RULE VIOLATORS
The brainchild of SSP Hemant Kutiyal, the idea began with a short movie-viewing on the side of roads. The traffic police were given a laptop equipped with a short movie on traffic rules and their violations.
“Whenever a person broke the rules, we asked them to halt on the roadside, took out our laptop, and made them watch that movie. But since the temperature was usually soaring above 40 degrees, we weren’t able to show it for more than 10 or 15 minutes, after which they rushed away,” Mr. Kumar shared with Indian Masterminds.
When the SSP came to know about this, he thought of a new idea and thus began the three-hour-long movie screening for traffic rule violators.
GET READY FOR A 3 HOUR LONG MOVIE
The officer and his team decided to call each and every traffic rule-breaker in the police line conference room, make them sit there for three hours, and show them a movie depicting the consequences of breaking traffic rules on themselves, their families, and the society.
“When we interrupted people and asked them to come with us, they protested and asked us to just challan them and let them go. They refused to watch any movie whatsoever but we stood firm on our decision and insisted they come with us to watch the movie,” said Mr. Kumar.
Not even a single person was made to pay the fine for violating the rules. All they were asked to do was watch the movie.
However, the police did not interfere with people who had medical emergencies to attend to. They were considerate enough to let such people go with just a warning.
THE MOVIE
Sharing details about the movie, the officer said that the three-hour-long movie is basically a compilation of several short movies, video footage from police headquarters, and clips combined together that showcases the harsh reality and consequences of breaking traffic rules.
“Under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s initiative of ‘Sadak Suraksha Jeevan Raksha,’ there are several videos prepared by the Government showing the disastrous effects of not following traffic rules. We also picked videos from there, clubbed everything together, and prepared a movie which goes on for three hours,” he told Indian Masterminds.
The movie is saved in a pen drive and with the help of a large projector and speakers, it is displayed on the screen for the violators to watch.
In this movie, there are pieces of advice, instructions to follow the traffic rules, and scenes related to the accident of those who violate the traffic rules. The movie imparts information on important traffic rules which must be followed such as driving a vehicle wearing a helmet, using a seat belt while driving a four-wheeler, limiting the speed of the vehicle on the highway, abstaining from driving under the influence of alcohol, keeping all the documents with you while driving, etc.
SUCCESSFUL INITIATIVE
The initiative began just 15 days ago but has already become a huge success in Moradabad. Almost 500-600 traffic rule violators have been made to see the movie, on a daily basis. The violators are only allowed to go when they have watched the entire movie or if there is some emergency case.
Much to the surprise of the officer, after the violators had left the premises, they were full of praises for this initiative. Mr. Kumar had taken their numbers and upon calling them for their feedback, every person on the call appreciated the idea, even though they had to spend three long hours just watching a movie.
“Once we let go of the violator, he is no longer in our custody and is free to do whatever he wishes. It was such an element of surprise for even us when we heard the heaps of praises that came our way related to the initiative,” shared Mr. Kumar. Only a few of them preferred paying a fine to go through the ‘painful ordeal’ of watching a ‘boring movie’ showing everything they already knew.
After a successful run of 15 days, the initiative has been paused for a while, but according to Mr. Kumar, it will resume soon.
