Page 29 - TrafficInfraTech Magazine - July Digital Edition

INTERVIEW

In terms of traffic violations, Bhopal to prevent deterioration and avoid accidents
experiences violations like over-speeding, caused by poor road conditions.
red light jumping, improper lane changing Bhopal often faces traffic congestion due
etc. Due to the smaller population, local law to the high volume of vehicles on the roads.
enforcement has a better chance of spotting This congestion leads to increased travel
and addressing these violations, which could times, driver fatigue and economic losses.
lead to better compliance among drivers. One Also, we are experiencing urban sprawl,
issue faced by Bhopal is limited resources where development expands outward
for traffic enforcement. The limited police without proper planning. This phenomenon
forces struggle to patrol all areas regularly, can lead to longer commute times, increased
leading to some violations going unnoticed dependency on personal vehicles, and
or unpunished. Additionally, traffic cameras challenges in providing efficient public
and advanced technology used in larger cities services to dispersed areas.
might not be as prevalent in small cities,
impacting the ability to monitor and deter The size of a city correlates with its
traffic violations effectively. environmental impact. Larger cities tend to
produce more pollution and greenhouse
What is the organisational gas emissions due to increased vehicular
structure of your department that traffic and industrial activities. Implementing
takes care of city road safety? sustainable practices, promoting eco-friendly
transportation options, and encouraging
PTRI (Police Training and Research Institute) green urban planning are vital to mitigate
has been constituted at the state level through these environmental challenges.
which guidelines related to road safety are
issued to the districts from time to time. In the High vehicular traffic increases the likelihood
districts, the work related to road safety (like: of accidents and road-related injuries. It leads
- enforcement, traffic regulation, awareness to a high demand for parking spaces as well.
etc.) of the cities is done by the Superintendent Some common impediments to improving
of Police, Station House Officers and Traffic traffic conditions include growing population
Police of the Police Department. District road & urbanization, inadequate infrastructure,
safety committees have been constituted in lack of investment, car-centric culture,
the districts under the chairmanship of the inefficient public transport, inadequate Traffic
collector, nodal officers of the departments management, distracted driving and traffic
related to road safety have been incorporated violations, urban planning and zoning, and
in the said committee. The DRSC meetings limited use of technology.
are organized by the Collector twice in a
month and the guidelines issued by the Lead Use of technology in traffic
agency/PTRI for road safety are reviewed, as management and enforcement
well as the work of coordination with all the system
stakeholders is done. Madhya Pradesh ranks first in India in
feeding information about road accidents in
Bhopal is one of the well-planned iRAD portal. The work of smooth operation
cities in India. What could be the of traffic in the city and taking action against
challenges considering the size of violators of traffic rules are done by the
the city and the vehicular traffic? traffic police. The enforcement has been
What are the main impediments? strengthened by the use of technology by the
police department.
Infrastructure development and
management are not up to the expectation. a) ITMS: - Traffic monitoring and issuance
The existing infrastructure is being upgraded of challan against traffic violators are
for a better traffic management. Ensuring done through ITMS in seven cities with
timely repairs and upgrades become critical population of more than three lakh in

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