What does Facebook have to do with traffic?

CHENNAI: When  Prakash  Venkatasubramanian posted a  complaint on the Chennai City Traffic Police’s Facebook page, little did he know that immediate action would be taken. Fourteen traffic violation cases were  booked against autos and Tata Magic share autos in the Ambattur area. A fine of Rs 900 was collected, based on his complaint on September 7. “The share autos were turning out to be a nuisance for pedestrians as their owners kept parking them in the middle of the road and very close to the bus stop. This caused problems to those looking to board or alight from buses,” says a representative of the Chennai Traffic Police Station. “A traffic jam was also created,” he adds. Cases were also slapped against auto  drivers who also refused to drop passengers at a particular destination for various reasons, he informs.The Facebook page of the police department, though initiated over two years ago, has been active since July 13 this year, after Sanjay Arora, the new Additional Commissioner took over. “The Facebook page is a way for responsible citizens to express their views on traffic, take part in various vigilance activities  and address police corruption,” he says. The page also has constant traffic updates, listing out slow-moving areas and vehicle breakdowns, that disrupt traffic. “The traffic updates that we provide to radio stations is also uploaded on the Facebook page,” informs Sanjay. With over 14,300 members, people from Chennai, click photographs of road block and other traffic-related issues, and post them on the page along with complaints. The police team passes on the photographs to the respective jurisdictional officers, who take immediate action and post photographs of the changed situation.  “Only if the offence is clearly made out in the photographs, we take action,”Sanjay explains. The website also addresses issues pertaining to drunken driving, informing members that 30 mgs of alcohol in 100 ml of blood is an offence that is punishable. “It is very useful for bike riders like me who are on the city roads for most of the day. When we get details of which road has high traffic, we can decide the route we have to take accordingly,” says Ameen Ahmed, a member of the page. “But it would be better if they can find a way to segregate the information on the page area-wise, it will be much more useful.” Wrong-side driving, riding without helmets, number plate offences are some of the other issues that the Facebook page deals with.