You all travel on roads and know how road safety is so important. Many times you yourself do not follow traffic rules and end up regretting it.
Also, the incidents of road accidents have skyrocketed in the last few years. And seeking justice for them is not a smooth task.
You have to register a complaint. Follow it up rigorously. Or frequent police booths. Many times, it becomes hard to take spontaneous actions.
So it is really very taxing!
But here is a solution.
City authorities are now using QR Codes run auto rickshaw to ensure road safety in Hyderabad.
Rachakonda Traffic Police in Hyderabad has an amazing use case.
Keep reading the article to know more.
A. QR Codes to keep check of errant auto drivers
In order to ensure road safety of citizens, especially women, Rachakonda Traffic Police has started a new project. It is called ‘My Auto is Safe’.
“We are planning to register all the auto-rickshaws with the police as a mandatory measure. We will start imposing fines on those who fail to register,” said N Divyacharan Rao, DCP (Traffic).
The registered auto drivers are then provided with a QR Code. It has the Control Room Number of the police on it. All drivers are required to paste it on their vehicles.
This initiative will keep rash or negligent driving under the scanner. In any of such cases, passengers simply need to call the Control room to register a complaint.
The QR Code also has stored, the details of the vehicle.
The passenger just needs to scan the QR Code via a smartphone. They will then have access to the details. And share it with their family, friends, and relatives for precautionary purposes.
The auto drivers who fail to register have to pay a fine in the form of challans. Till August 2019, 8,190 auto-rickshaws have registered themselves under this project.
B. How well are QR Codes in tackling the situation?
QR Codes run auto rickshaw have helped the police authorities in knowing the actual situation.
For example, in a district in Hyderabad, an auto driver was driving rashly. The passenger inside the vehicle was a pregnant woman. Even after repeated requests when the driver did not stop, she called the Control Room.
“We informed the local police and action was taken against him. The drivers too are under fear that they will be monitored by the Traffic Police Control Room and are keeping away from any rude behavior,” the DCP said.
The initiative has also helped police to keep track of unlicensed drivers. Or drivers plying without adequate documents.
Passengers are also readily responding to this project. By scanning the QR Code, they can instantly register complaints regarding misbehavior or negligence. The details of the incident along with the location of the passenger are forwarded to the nearby police station.
“Auto drivers have shared instances where citizens keep asking for the QR code or the unique number of the vehicle and refuse to board vehicles which do not have the ‘My Auto is Safe’ sticker,” said a senior police official.
Thus, QR Codes have proved to be a worthwhile, effective and powerful solution to ensure road safety in Hyderabad.