0		Bangalore, traffic, police, gets, tech, savvy

Few months ago, I was waiting to cross the road in a busy Bangalore center where I found a cop busy scribbling down something on his notepad. Inquisitive by nature, I couldn’t stop accosting the cop and asking him what was he doing. Here is the conversation that followed.

Me : What are are you scribbling down?

Cop1 : I am noting down the license plate numbers of people who are not wearing helmets and people who are talking on their mobile while driving.

Me : What good is that?

Cop1 : We will levy fines on the registration number and send tickets to the addresses.

Me : WTF

Rewind to few months back to a conversation I had with another cop. I was dropping someone off at the bus stand (request stop). This is the stop where all the private travelers stop to pick up the passengers. The stop is usually deserted and only busy during the evenings. I parked my car on the sidewalk, like I always used to. Just after the bus left and when I am getting into the car a cop came to me.

Here is the conversation that followed :

Cop2 : You are parking on the footpath. You have to pay fine or I will take to the police station.

Me :What? Come on. Gimme a break. No one really walks on this space.

Cop2 : It really doesn’t matter. You have to pay  the fine.

Me : Oh!Please.

Cop2: Fine.

Me: Alrite. Give me the ticket.

Cop2: I don’t have the ticket. If you want the ticket then come to police station.

Me: I am not coming to the police station for a lousy parking ticket.

Cop2: Suit yourself. I am noting down your number.

Me : Go ahead. (what are you gonna do with that number anyway)

That was far back in the memory lane. Fast forward to yesterday, I received a sms from Bangalore Traffic Police. Message says : Pay your parking tickets online at bangaloretrafficpolice.gov.in. The inquirer in me went home and checked the website. There is a screen to enter your car number and to find the offences you have committed so far.

I entered my car number and this is what I got :

That 100 rupee fine was levied by the cop2 I had a discussion with in May 2008.

So, it is real. The fines they levy are real and the books they carry are real. I heard about this stuff that cops note down the numbers and you will know about them only when you plan to sell the car. The fines are against your registration number and when you sell your car, you have clear these up and sell the car. This particular website makes it incredibly easy for me to track all my offences. The site redirects to bangaloreone to pay the actual bill.

I know what you are thinking. Why do you commit offence in the first place. The only thing I might commit is the parking offence. I see the No Parking boards o all the roads. Just putting a No Parking sign alone will not solve the problem is it? That again is a topic for another discussion.

Have some fun by entering some random car numbers to see what offences they have committed. Tip : Try with VIP numbers. I tried one VIP number and I got 3 offences. I am not going to publish that number for you. Let your imagination work that for you.