Rampant lack of civic sense key reason behind Pune’s traffic woes

Pune: The city is rapidly filling up to its brim with traffic, and commuters are beset by vehicular congestion in almost every area today. But while poor road quality, potholes, defunct signals and heavy vehicle movement are routinely blamed for this daily turmoil, what often gets sidelined is the missing civic sense in vehicle users.In the 11 months till Nov this year, 11.06 lakh cases of road violations were recorded by Pune city traffic police, and 3.06 lakh cases by their Pimpri Chinchwad counterparts. Be it riding or parking on footpaths, wrong-side driving, drunk driving, jumping signals, switching lanes without indication, not wearing helmets, double parking on narrow roads and more, the devil-may-care attitude of many road users is wreaking havoc for all.
Why do citizens engage in law-breaking behaviour? Do they not care about the consequences of their actions? Or is the fear of repercussions non-existent? According to experts and police officers, it is a mix of both. No fear of being fined "Residents need to take a hard look into their own minds," said transportation systems strategist and designer, Nishit Narayan Kamath. "Double parking, riding on footpaths, wrong-side driving and breaking signals do not require the presence of law enforcement to understand. These require basic common sense and a moment of self-reflection. If someone feels proud of doing these things, they are a part of the problem. Our society is becoming increasingly dysfunctional. The gap between those who follow rules despite the odds and those who proudly defy them is widening by the day. The result is a city filled with frustration, hopelessness and a feeling of abandonment," Kamath told TOI. Similarly, Ravindra Sinha, founder of social group Citizens for Area Sabha, said, "Most people don't follow rules in Pune as there's no real deterrent. In Mumbai, helmet compliance is high because riders know they'll be fined almost every time. Not so here, Similarly, parking on a footpath in Mumbai guarantees towing, while in Pune even govt vehicles occupy footpaths without consequences." Chaos by design At the core of better traffic management is the road and system design that facilitates movement and ensures smooth flow of vehicles. Using the established ‘Safe System Approach' — a strategy to eliminate death and serious injuries by developing a system that is forgiving of human error and vulnerability — is the need of the hour, said many residents. It is the faulty design implemented by authorities that is leading to existing traffic chaos, more than missing civic sense or lack of law enforcement, reinforced IT professional Chaitanya Ket. "Our city's carrying capacity is well-exceeded and even road width is not optimal on most routes. Even if we widen roads to the maximum, which is 45m inside city limits as per the Indian Road Congress (IRC), we will still face traffic issues. That's just how many vehicles we have. Pune is facing unprecedented growth and no infrastructure update is matching up. The city needs to be divided into clusters so that most can work near their place of residence or vice-versa, and travelling long hours daily can be minimised," suggested Ket. Does a solution exist? Civic activist Rohan Aaron, who often assists traffic police during peak hours in Wagholi, told TOI that the problem is multi-layered — huge traffic-flow, deficient civic sense, abysmal police-citizen ratio for effective law enforcement and inadequate public transport with last-mile connectivity. "The immediate solution, in my view, is to have regular traffic rules enforcement drives, awareness sessions on road safety in educational institutions and also in companies. This is aimed at sensitising people that our actions impact each other and hence, being responsible motorists is necessary," said Aaron, a resident of Wagholi. "The immediate solution would be to extend the use of AI monitoring systems to other areas, leveraging technology to its best. The long-term solution is to ensure that the volume of supply of efficient public transport is improved to cater to the growing population. This can be alongside improving the police-to-citizen ratio," he added. Technology steps in Authorities also place a certain amount of responsibility on citizens to discipline those around them — a safe and non-confrontational way to do so is to report violations on the Pune Traffic Police's (PTP) app. Kamath, who is co-lead of the Pune Platform for Collaborative Response, a non-profit foundation trying to address civic issues through collaboration, told TOI, "The PTP app already has over 40,000 downloads and allows people to responsibly and anonymously report violations that translate into real challans. The police are doing the best they can with the resources they have; they cannot babysit an entire city." In the recent past, both Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad traffic officers have resorted to multiple modes of enforcement on city streets. While the Pimpri Chinchwad police have restricted heavy vehicle movement in city limits during peak hours, Pune police are actively working towards issuing challans to complaints they have received via the PTP app. After the app was launched on June 15, in the first fortnight, Pune police acted against 1,754 out of 3,624 traffic violations reported on the app. Of the remaining offenders, some were let off as there wasn't sufficient evidence; some were transferred to other units in the state for appropriate action. Top cops cite manpower struggles, commuters' lack of discipline ‘Pimpri Chinchwad has at least 117 hotspots that need regulation, but we have limited staff' Citizens just don't follow rules. We are continuously conducting drives and fining offenders, but it will take some time to change the mindset. The minute there is some congestion, impatient commuters go the wrong way, break signals or ride on footpaths. Pimpri Chinchwad has 117 congestion spots that need regulation. We have tried as much as possible by introducing no-parking zones or P1/P2 parking on narrow stretches, but it's a big area under only 14 traffic divisions. We need cameras to help enforce rules, too. On ground at any time, I have 450 traffic personnel on duty. However, given the area and vehicle density we cater to, we need double this number. We also look over a few rural areas as well, and at least twice or thrice a week, we have VIP movement. This engages a sizable number of officers — Vivek Patil | Deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Pimpri Chinchwad ‘Road discipline cannot just be the responsibility of the police, citizens must follow rules, too' There is a mix of citizens who follow traffic rules and those who break them. Road discipline cannot just be the responsibility of the police. Citizens must play their part as well. Wardens help to some extent, but there's only so much they can do. There are 700 traffic personnel on the streets, but the department needs more. The carrying capacity of our roads is filled to the brim, and we need at least 3,000 personnel. We have sent a proposal for the same to the state. We are also looking at how we can best use technology, like AI cameras, to help regulate and fine offenders. When there is congestion, our energy goes into resolving the jams and our priority shifts from law enforcement to problem-solving. The PTP app is an effort to help better enforce the rules. We have been able to triple the number of challans issued since it was launched — Manoj Patil | Additional commissioner of police (East), Pune Citizen Speak People don't follow rules and argue when you correct their behaviour. They are definitely the problem. Kothrud, Deccan, Sinhagad Road and Chandni Chowk are all traffic chaos hotspots that I travel through frequently, and each has its own set of issues. Every area will have to be studied separately to identify problems and find solutions. Imposing fines on those who break rules will work, but only in the long term, if done repeatedly. However, it is important that authorities find a more immediate solution as well to the growing traffic menace we battle daily— Devayani Belsare | IT professional A combination of increased vigilance and patrolling coupled with heightened civic sense is the only way to tackle the city's growing traffic issue. Dilution of any one aspect will affect the others. For example, at signals or heavily congested junctions, when the police want to clear snarls, they ask commuters to wait on or beyond the zebra crossing or ask them to break the red light. While this might help resolve the problem in that moment, they are diluting the respect commuters have for the law or enforcement personnel. Such exceptions fuel disobedience — Satish Pradhan | Retired corporate executive One of the biggest reasons for traffic is lack of lane discipline, wrong-side driving and signal jumping by impatient commuters. Even those who follow rules are forced to bear the brunt. We need cameras at all signals. It is the only way to deter rule-breakers. There is a big attitude problem and both motorists and pedestrians are at risk on the streets today. Enforcement of rules and penalty by authorities is the absolute need of the hour — Neena Narsian | Construction industry professional Pune's traffic problem largely stems from poor civic sense. People ignore signals, drive on the wrong side, and treat rules as optional. However, I feel that this behaviour persists because enforcement is weak and accountability is low. The solution lies in strict, consistent enforcement backed by real penalties. When people know violations have consequences, civic discipline improves. Strong policing, better monitoring and public awareness together can break this cycle — Neel Shah | Marketing consultant