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🚨 Traffic in the Time of Fines: A Citizen’s Tale from the Streets

In the early morning haze, as city roads begin their daily hum, a familiar scene unfolds. Whistles blow, hands wave, and a traffic policeman stands firmly at the junction—not to ease the jam, but to pull aside riders for fines. Helmet? No. Insurance? No. Triple seat? Yes. The challan app beams in his palm while vehicles back up into a snarl behind him.

It’s a scene as common as the sun rising over Hubballi, and yet—rarely questioned.

🧾 Rules That Bind, But Don’t Balance

Government mandates are firm:

  • No helmet: ₹1,000
  • No insurance: ₹1,000
  • Vehicle in no-parking: ₹3,000
  • Drink and drive: ₹10,000
  • Triple seat riding: ₹2,000
  • Phone use while driving: ₹2,000
  • No pollution certificate: ₹1,000
  • Entering “No Entry”: ₹5,000

They sound like pillars of safety—and in part, they are. But the foundation begins to crack when these fines exist without equal accountability from the system itself.

🚧 The Uneven Road to Justice

Who pays the fine when:

  • A pothole throws a rider off balance and damages the vehicle?
  • Street dogs or cows dart into roads and collide with speeding vehicles?
  • Open drains overflow and make riding a game of fate?
  • A pedestrian walks on the main road, displaced by encroached footpaths?
  • Roads are dug and left unrepaired for weeks, turning commutes into obstacle courses?
  • Streetlights remain dark, and the only light comes from a phone torch?

The answer is often bitter: “It’s the citizen’s risk. The government will look into it.”

And so the scales tilt. Not toward safety, but toward selective scrutiny. Only the public is fined. Only the common man bleeds coins and patience.

🚦 Enforcement vs. Empathy

One can't help but ask: Where does traffic policing end and traffic management begin?

A policeman, rooted at a junction, may pull aside ten violators—but might simultaneously trigger a jam affecting hundreds. The ripple spreads:

  • School buses halted mid-turn.
  • Ambulances trapped in puddled chaos.
  • Families inch forward in suffocating heat.

Isn't the role of traffic police also to facilitate movement, not just penalize error?

💭 A Call for Reflective Governance

This isn’t an anti-authority rant—it’s a plea for symmetry. Just as citizens are expected to obey laws, shouldn’t civic bodies be held to the same standard?

Why should governance be exempt from accountability? Why is a cracked helmet a ₹1,000 offense, but a cracked road a silent tragedy?

As one commuter put it:

“The road doesn’t just carry my vehicle—it carries my trust in the system. Every pothole is a betrayal, every ignored jam a dismissal of dignity.”

🌱 Towards a Culture of Fairness

Safety is not just about rule enforcement. It is also about preventive care, responsive systems, and shared responsibility. Let fines remain—but let them be met with:

  • Street repairs within timelines
  • Feedback mechanisms with outcomes
  • Transparent use of collected fines for infrastructure
  • A civic pledge not just from citizens, but from governments too

Let every traffic stop be not just a transaction, but a moment of mutual respect. Let every road be not just a journey, but a statement of care.

By: A commuter, a father, a citizen, and a believer in balance.

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