Delhi's 'Traffic Pathshala': Violators Learn Road Safety Instead of Just Paying Fines

When Chandan Kumar, a delivery agent in Delhi, was stopped by police on Sri Aurobindo Marg for riding without a helmet, he expected to pay a fine and leave. Instead, he was made to attend a 15-minute road safety session with 15–20 other violators before being allowed to continue. This was part of 'Traffic Pathshala', a month-long awareness campaign by Delhi Traffic Police from July 1 to 31.

Under the initiative, officers hold counselling sessions at selected hotspots using videos, charts, and discussions to explain the consequences of traffic violations and the importance of road safety. Different districts organise sessions on different days.

“The idea is to encourage a change in behaviour rather than relying solely on monetary penalties,” said Sandeep Goyal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), South.

At the session attended by Chandan, Traffic Inspector Madhurendra Kumar urged participants to be mindful of vulnerable road users like pedestrians, senior citizens, children, and animals. “On roads, traffic is mixed and these groups are less capable of protecting themselves in case of a crash. Even low-speed collisions can cause serious injury,” he said.

An official from the Traffic Training Park screened a road safety video and reminded participants that safe driving is a shared responsibility. “While on roads we are concerned about our own destination, we need to be aware of those around us as well,” the official said.

Among those present was Gaurav, a student stopped for jumping a red light. “I was in a hurry as my mother was not well,” he said, adding that he was aware he had violated the rule. He was issued a challan and required to attend the session.

Traffic police acknowledged that the additional delay was not welcomed by everyone. “It is understandable that many people do not want to delay their journey, but lack of awareness is not the only reason why people break rules,” an officer said.

According to the officer, most violators know they are breaking the law. “Many have emergencies, but others break rules for sheer thrill. As enforcers, we can only flag this behaviour. Real change comes when people cooperate,” the officer said.

Mr. Madhurendra said sustained enforcement with public cooperation can improve road safety. “When the public cooperates, we reduce congestion, fatalities, accidents and challans. In my area, accidents have dropped from an average of 12 to eight in the past eight months, thanks to interventions by traffic police and coordination with citizens,” he said.

The sessions cover common violations like jumping red lights, riding without helmets, overspeeding, using mobile phones while driving, and not wearing seat belts, Mr. Goyal said. Through videos and real-life examples, violators are told that a moment of negligence can have life-altering consequences.

As of July 13, Delhi Traffic Police had conducted 183 intersection drives, organised 226 sessions, and interacted with over 5,600 violators. During the same period, they detected 696 cases of wrong-side driving, 246 instances of red-light jumping, and 319 cases of triple riding. Around 1,270 motorists were issued challans for riding without helmets.

In a bid to encourage compliance, the traffic police have awarded badges to over 330 motorists for adhering to traffic rules.