Hyderabad pays Rs 31.4cr in traffic fines

City residents have paid Rs 31.46 crore in fines for traffic violations so far this year, the highest in any year. This includes fines imposed by the courts for drunken driving amounting to Rs 15 lakh.

Around 28.75 lakh road users have violated traffic rules this year. In 2010, the police collected Rs 24 crore from traffic violators in Hyderabad.

Additional commissioner of police C.V. Anand said, “We are trying to stress on all aspects of enforcement, including drunk driving. The fine amount collected from drunken drivers has doubled.”

The number of illegally parked vehicles has come down as against previous years. Cops are using cameras, and speed laser guns to catch violators apart from manual enforcement.

Meanwhile, 171 drunken drivers were arrested in just two days (December 9 and 10) and the vehicles were detained. Of these, 66 were four-wheelers, 99 were two-wheelers and there were six autorickshaws.

The cops had concentrated on the areas near various clubs in the city. The police said many VVIPs were also fined, but did not disclose the names. “We conducted special drives on December 9 and 10 at various places in the twin cities between 10 pm and 1 am. A total of 171 drunken drivers were arrested and their vehicles were detained,” said a police source.

“We focused on various clubs, both registered and non-registered, which are encouraging gambling and where a lot of people go to consume alcohol,” the source added.

On December 12, the drivers were produced before the magistrate court in Nampally and they were fine up to Rs 2,500 and their driving licences were suspended for three months.