Saw a traffic violation? You can now report it directly to Mumbai traffic police via MTPapp

In a good news for Mumbai motorists, traffic violations like rash driving, illegal parking, talking on mobile while driving etc can directly be reported to traffic police via the MTPapp, who will subsequently issue an e-challan to violators.

The facility was unveiled by superstar Amitabh Bachchan during the inauguration of the 28th Road Safety Week in the presence of hundreds of top officials at the NCPA auditorium on Monday.

The iconic actor was also chosen as the ‘brand ambassador’ for road safety in Maharashtra.

“The MTPapp (Mumbai Traffic Police app) will create a more alert citizenry and help our police bring down traffic offences. I will personally click pictures of offenders and alert the traffic police,” Bachchan said while unveiling the feature.

With the ‘Traffic Violations’ option on the app, citizens can report a host of violations like riding triple seat, signal jumping, riding without helmet, using mobile while driving, wrong parking, tinted windows, rash driving, fancy number plates among others.

The app allows citizens to take picture of the violation, which will be used as proof of offence, and captures the location where the violation took place with the help of the phone’s GPS.

Users can also add a description if they want to elaborate on the nature of the offence.

Once the offence is logged, the concerned department is alerted about the same, following which an e-challan will be issued.

While speaking to Local Press Co, Vijayalakshmi Hiremath, Senior Police Inspector of Bandra traffic division, said, “If the violation is visible and the car owner’s number is registered in our database, we will send an e-challan to the offender via SMS.”

The traffic police, before the launch of the city-wide CCTV network, had collected data of over 20 lakh motorists from Mumbai. The data is now used by traffic police to send over 5,000 e-challans everyday.

Meanwhile, motorists feel that the ability to report traffic violations was long overdue and are hopeful that a thorough implementation will actually help curb mishaps on the road.

“This is exactly what a city like Mumbai needs. There are so many violations that citizens can report to the traffic police, albeit judiciously. I just hope the traffic police takes action against all valid violations and fines the offenders. If they do, I am sure it will make our roads safer,” said Alpesh Tawde, a banker who commutes from Andheri to BKC everyday.

Apart from using the MTPapp to report traffic offences, citizens can also use it for paying e-challans, tracing towed vehicles, locating parking spots and more.

Going forward, there are plans of linking 50 RTOs across the state to a central server, which will allow traffic police to issue e-challans and keep a track of repeat offenders.

During the launch of the Road Safety Week, State Transport Commissioner Praveen Gedam also spoke about making the driving tests stringent and computerised to make roads safer.

“We have made driving tests at the RTO stringent. Recently, 25-30% driving licence applicants were declared ‘failed’ at most RTOs. In future, we will have computerised driving tests,” he said.