Kathmandu, May 18

Don’t get taken aback if you receive a phone call from the traffic police office regarding fine for violating traffic rules. Traffic police have started calling erring vehicle owners after checking CCTV footage.

In the past one month, Metropolitan Traffic Police Division took action against 165 traffic rule violators.

MTPD officers have started calling people violating traffic rules on their mobile phones and slapping fines ranging from Rs 500 to 1,500. Traffic police also took action against 994 traffic rule violators on the spot upon being alerted by traffic controllers from Nepal Police CCTV control rooms.

Calling motorists and bikers on the basis of CCTV footage is not an easy task as the Traffic Police offices don’t have their own CCTV surveillance system and have to rely on Nepal Police’s system at various places. They need footage on regular basis from the NP. After identifying the number plate of violators the traffic police have to visit the Department of Transport Management for detailed information of vehicle owners before they can make a call.

Head of MTPD SSP Basanta Kumar Pant said, “We call each rule violator three times. If they do not respond, we blacklist their vehicles, and issue circular to the concerned traffic police. The violators’ documents are then seized.” They can obtain the documents after paying the fine and attending a class on traffic rules and road safety.

CCTV cameras were used for traffic control only from February 2018. Traffic police said they took action on the spot against 3,329 rule violators last year on the basis of CCTV footage.

More than 640 CCTV cameras have been installed at various places in Kathmandu valley for traffic management and security purposes. Traffic police personnel, however, say they need at least 1,500 cameras to manage traffic effectively.

Stakeholders say it’s difficult to take action against rule violators on the basis of CCTV footage. Director of Nepal Injury Research Centre Sunil Kumar Joshi said traffic police should be well-equipped with required technology to crack down on all traffic rule violators.

He further said hundreds of traffic police personnel had to be deployed for this task alone. Joshi suggested that traffic rules be included in school curriculum to make the young generation aware.