The traffic police have just acquired 280 Blackberry phones. That’s said to be higher than what the Los Angeles police have (200 units), and significantly higher than the Seattle and New York police (100 each).

Read the entire story here.

Using this device, the cops will have all the information they need about the offender; name, address, previous violations etc, right at their fingertips.

This news couldn’t have come at a better time. Bangalore currently struggles with its daily dose of traffic woes and with this new technology, you will only see a better organized and disciplined traffic in this city; something we all long to see.

What’s more… they also plan to introduce another new device, with which you can pay your fines on the spot by using your debit or credit cards. How easier can it get?

Go Bangalore!

But I don’t think you would’ve seen the following one anywhere here. I know it’s not really related to Bangalore but it was too funny not to share… :-) Read more below to see what I’m talking about.

Image source/photographer: Unknown (Received via email)

Can I have one child bear….oops, chilled beer, please?

It may be well for Bangalore to learn a thing or two from Delhi. Imagine the change in traffic discipline this could bring about here. Sometimes, only fear can discipline people.

I’ve lived in Dubai and I know what it means to be fearful of the cops and avoiding getting fined. The result: A very well disciplined Dubai traffic. You will never ever see someone driving over the median to get to the other side, or someone jumping the red signal or a biker who dares to ride without a helmet.

Bangalore is a long way from being a Dubai but implementing this law could be a good start.

Maybe it’s a good idea to implement a ban on smoking while driving too. Incidentally, I almost got a cigarette burn in my trousers last night while riding back home, when someone from a moving car in the next lane, threw a cigarette butt on the road. It bounced off the road (I’m not kidding!) and on to my precious Allen Solly pants but thankfully, it again bounced off back to the road. Introducing this law could also leave us with clean ‘butt-free’ roads too.

So, anyone for the 500 bucks fine?

Ok, now for my first post:

There are 2 types of helmet wearers in Bangalore:

1. Those who wear helmets
2. Those who do not wear helmets

But wait, I found out a third type the other day. The type shown below:

Yup, those who wear their helmets on their hands!

I’ve seen many of these ‘hand-helmetters’ in Bangalore and I’ve often wondered about the purpose they’re fulfilling. Do cops only require the riders to carry a helmet with them and not necessarily wear it? I researched a bit on Google and I was shocked and amazed that the law actually allows this (more or less). This is what Section 129 of the Indian Motor Vehicles Act says:

It is mandatory to wear a helmet of ISI standard while riding a motor cycle in public place.

Can’t you see? It does not say WHERE you have to wear the helmet. Anywhere would be fine… hand, leg, in your bag, anywhere! Either these motorists have been reading the law thoroughly and finding out loopholes or they have complete disregard for the law and they’re making a mockery out of it.

But I guess you can’t really blame these ‘hand-helmetters’. They annoy me the most but if you really think about it, they are not actually breaking the law, are they?