Now, Facebook to net traffic offenders

KOCHI: Before you flout any traffic rules or jump any signal, think twice.  For, there are eyes that could be watching you and this time it is not the officials but the public that might catch you red-handed. To garner more public participation, the Ernakulam Motor Vehicles  Department, which comes under the central zone, is set to launch a web page on Facebook which will allow the public to inform the officials about the traffic violations in the district. What the public has to do is to take photographs of these violations and  upload it on the page. According to the officials of the Deputy Transport Commissioner’s office, this is the most easy and effective method to gain the participation of the people. “The impact created by social networking sites, especially Facebook, is huge. Hence, we decided to make use of that,” said N Vinod Kumar, Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector, Deputy Transport Commissioners Office at Kakkanad. He added that since there was hardly anybody who does not own a mobile  phone, taking pictures wouldn’t be a problem. “This will make our task easier. What you need to do is just take such snaps and upload it on the web page. It is just a minutes’s job if Internet can be accessed on the phone,”  he said.Deputy Transport Commissioner P A Sainuddin said shortage of staff had always been an issue with the Motor Vehicles Department. “Inadequate staff has always been a problem. We hope such initiatives would help us zero in on those who break traffic rules,” he said. A trial version of the Facebook  page has already been opened (www.facebook.com/mvdkerala).The trial version has been launched only in  Ernakulam. “If everything goes well, we will submit it to the Transport Commissioner, Thiruvananthapuram, so that the page can be launched officially by February,” he said. A significant feature of the initiative would be that the pictures uploaded likewise will be taken as official record, based on which the authorities can level charges against the offenders. This web page has been designed on the lines of the model adopted by the Delhi and Mumbai Traffic Police. “It is running successfully in these two metros. Hence, we decided to implement it here,” Vinod Kumar said.He also added that it was the  Traffic Police who were responsible for the law enforcement in Delhi and Mumbai, whereas in Kerala, it was a joint responsibility of both the Traffic Police and the Motor Vehicle Department.