IGP suggests raising fine for violating traffic rules

The inspector general of police (IGP) yesterday suggested heavy financial penalties for violating traffic rules in a bid to prevent drivers from committing traffic offences repeatedly.
"At present, the rule breakers are fined as low as Tk 50 and so, they don't bother committing the offences again. But if the fine is increased to Tk 1000, they [rule breakers] will think twice before violating the traffic rules," IGP Nur Mohammad said.
The police boss also observed that the nagging problem of traffic jam in the capital is not possible to fix within a short time and suggested adopting several short and long-term strategies to get rid of the menace.
He made the observations while addressing a monthly luncheon meeting of American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (Amcham) at a city hotel as the chief guest and speaker.
Amcham President Syed Ershad Ahmed, Vice President Trevor MacDonald and Executive Director A Gafur addressed the meeting. The topic was 'Traffic jam in Dhaka city: Challenges and possible solution.'
When a participant observed that the truck and bus drivers dare to violate traffic rules as the sergeants take bribes from them, the IGP said that the tendency is going down adding that the previous corrupt recruitment process is responsible for it.
One had to bribe Tk 4 to 5 lakh to get the job of a sergeant earlier, Nur Mohammad said adding that he was positive that a new batch of around 700 sergeants to be rolled in the streets shortly will be free from this negative practice as their recruitment process was fair.
The IGP put forward several short-term strategies to reduce traffic jam that includes re-adjusting the school and office times keeping at least one-hour gap, reducing and replacing private transport with convenient and cheaper ones and fixing different fares for rush hour and non-rush hours.
The long-term strategies are constructing flyovers from one end to another end of the city, introducing underground rail service, undertaking co-ordinated and integrated strategies among different agencies working for city development, replacing rickshaws by ensuring proper rehabilitation of the rickshaw pullers and decentralising the city.
The IGP identified overpopulation, inadequate and unplanned road networks, rampant excavation of roads by city corporation, Desa, Wasa and BTTB without any integrated plan, plying of slow and fast moving vehicles on the same road, rail-crossings and insufficient parking arrangements as major causes of traffic gridlock.
Whereas the minimum road requirement for a standard city is 25 percent of the total area, Dhaka has got only 7.5 percent, Nur Mohammad said adding that the hawkers, salesmen and shopkeepers occupy 30 percent out of this 7.5 percent. Besides, construction materials and waste containers of Dhaka City Corporation eat up significant portions of space.
About the rail crossings, the IGP said 74 trains move every day to and from Dhaka. On an average, it takes five minutes to get clearance for each crossing and thus the vehicles had to make stopovers for up to six hours daily, which is really difficult to offset.
Nur Mohammad identified people's tendency not to abide by law, inadequate logistics and shortage of manpower as some of the major challenges they are facing.
Replying to a query, the IGP said that the subway would be installed in next two to three years in phases.
Amcham President Syed Ershad Ahmed observed that traffic jam is having negative effects on the development activities.
About Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) he said, "People feel badly harassed when they go to BRTA." They often make intentional delay in getting work done leading to corruption, he added.