Bengaluru Traffic Cops Use ‘Mail Privilege’: Inform IT Firms If Techies Flout Driving Rules

The inboxes of Bengaluru’s IT companies have received a host of unique emails in the past week.

Nearly 200 emails have been sent by the Bengaluru Traffic Police to the Human Resource and Administration heads, detailing the names of techies who have violated traffic rules in the city.

This is part of the unique pilot project of the East division of the city traffic police to raise awareness against traffic violations. The drive has been initiated along the IT corridor in the city, spanning between Outer Ring Road and Whitefield.

Speaking to News18, Kuldeep Kumar Jain, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East Division – Traffic), said that when a techie is found violating traffic rules as part of this drive, the violator is asked to pay a spot fine, or the digital evidence is uploaded on the traffic department database for later settlement.

“If employees are caught violating traffic rules, information about the specific violation will be sent to their respective companies through email or WhatsApp. Simultaneously, our team is also collecting information about the employee, their place of work, and then details about the violations, along with photographic evidence, are emailed to the company’s HR/admin heads. The effort is to make the violator more aware and conscious of traffic rules and road safety while riding," Jain said.

“In the past week since we started this drive, our department has sent out nearly 200 emails to IT companies on violations made by techies," the DCP said.

Replying to a question on what action is expected by the companies based on the emails sent by the traffic police, the DCP said: “The email only requests the company to look into the matter. We don’t expect them to respond."

The traffic police believe that this drive will make people more conscious and take that extra effort to follow traffic rules and make Bengaluru safer. The senior official also added that the idea behind the drive is also to make the issue of reducing traffic violations a talking point and address them.

This pilot project has been initiated in the East division because the maximum concentration of traffic violations has been witnessed in this jurisdiction, and many of those who were violating were found to be working in IT companies situated along this corridor.