Instead of making a single change to the laws, find ways to enforce existing ones. A fine of Rs. 100 is enough if it is stringently enforced. I am sure people would feel the pinch if they are regularly caught for wrongdoings and fined every time. A good incentive for cops is to give them a cut out of the fines collected. Say 50% of the amount of fines collected. This is a disincentive for corruption.

Use technology. Things like cameras at signals to catch people breaking them. Automating the entire process would help and make people more accountable.

Solving disputes in courts is difficult and perhaps an incentive for people to pay the fines. Nobody wants the pain of going to courts.

Seatbelts and helmets should be compulsory. They definitely reduce the chances of injury drastically. The manner in which that is enforced is irrelevant. Wearing seatbelts/helmets should be a habit inculcated into the Indian driving culture.

@Geetika. Higher fines still help. Paying 500 vs paying 50 to cop makes a difference to my pocket regardless of whether the government gets it. I fully agree with the commission idea though.

But how do you imagine number 4 can be enforced?

Regarding penalizing the vehicles on the basis of the black smoke, I would ratify it as a potentially good reform only if you are prepared with an explaination of quantifying the black colour of the smoke : how black is black enough to be fined.

With no offences intended, I think I would totally disagree with point number 6 where you assert that wearing halmets and seat belts should be made a matter of personal choice, and people should be let to learn from the experience. Given that is done, you can only imagine city roads flooded with drivers having almost no halmets and seat belts like never before, even if the accidents go on rise. I mean I wonder why you should be making this point even while you are well aware of the case of cigarretes? Smokers aren’t unaware of the fact that cigarretes kill, but how many of them give it up simply after reading the statutory warning? Its the deep rooted habit that causes helplessness to follow the norm, which is true in case of drivers too.

It is therefore the habit that needs to be checked, and since drivers in general aren’t discriminative enough, this check has to be deliberate. You say ‘If, the rider meets with an accident, he should be fined twice of the normal penalty’. Sounds like a good idea, only if the rider always stays alive, and also if the bus drivers don’t run into the risk of growing more irreponsible while driving, in addition to what most of them already are.

It is the duty of the government to ensure all safety and security measure for its citizens, failing to do which it will only be branded as an irresponsible and careless govt. I think traffic police is only fulfilling its legitimate duty by stoping people and fining them when they don’t wear halmets or seat belts because the sad saga of the driving game is that people don’t often realize its dangers unless things happens to them. But the govt. surely can’t wait and see people dying, especially when it is known that they aren’t going to reform even when they see people meeting terrible accidents all around.

The problem is that everybody thinks of himself as an expert driver, and that they won’t ever commit those ‘obvious’ mistakes that people who meet the accidents do.

The things you list happen elsewhere in the world already and will make sense – however, I always end up feeling the problem in most places in India isn’t so much about having laws as much as it is about lousy implementation.

Increase fines for instance – so let’s see…fine used to be Rs 500, I gave the cop Rs 100 and got off. If the fine is Rs. 1000, I give him Rs. 500 and get off, I still save and he makes more. Corruption/bribery stays where it was. It’d be nicer if the cops were paid more…maybe something like a commission for each challan they issue. if the commission they get is equal or slightly more than what an average person is ready to give as bribe, they wont take it (loss ka sauda types). If it’s performance based – the more accurate challans he issues, the more performance-bonus he gets. I mean, the traffic police needs better incentives than what they’re getting as bribe. I emphasize accurate coz if the police man has too much free will to give challans and they come with monetary benefits then they will start issuing them to law abiders as well and I guess there has to be a way to walk around that bit…

Nice post. And just as a little info pointer…dunno about other states…but speeding fine in CA starts at a minimum of $380 or so…and this is taxable so it’s actually more than that…a bigger pinch :(