Bhubaneswar: Citizens can now assist the Transport Department in enforcing traffic rules in Odisha. Public can now report violation of traffic rules, especially helmetless driving, through the next generation mParivahan App’s ‘Citizen Sentinel’ option.
“The department is seeking active participation of citizens for enforcement of road safety measures through sentinel application developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC),” said an official of the State Transport Authority (STA) today.
According to the STA, the ‘No Helmet Violation’ in the Citizen Sentinel option can be registered by uploading live video and image.
One needs to capture incidents of helmetless driving (photo as well as video) on their smart phones and upload the same onto the application. The STA will issue e-challans in this regard after thorough verification, said the official.
As per the data, around 34 per cent road accident deaths in Odisha in 2022 were related to two-wheelers. As many as 1,695 people lost their lives and 2,615 others sustained injuries due to helmetless driving in Odisha last year, sources said.
“Road safety is a shared responsibility. To begin with, we are seeking help of citizens to keep check on those who ride without helmet. In future, other traffic violations will be added in the Citizen Sentinel option. Due to continuous enforcement activities, people are using helmets in the urban areas but avoiding the same in rural areas and highways where protection is much more needed,” said Additional Transport Commissioner (Road Safety and Enforcement) Lalmohan Sethi.
The pillion riders rarely wear helmets even though it is mandatory for them to do so, added Sethi.
“Citizens can upload photos and videos of both rider as well as pillion rider for riding without helmet. While clicking photographs and videos, the citizens should ensure that the violation as well as vehicle number is clearly captured in the photograph and video. Location, date and time of the violation will be automatically captured from live images and videos uploaded. Identity of any person reporting traffic rules violations will not be disclosed,” Sethi said.
