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Street Smart: Fine collection doubles to Rs 72 lakh as Simputers make
traffic management hassle-free for cops

Offtrack/Bangalore
INDIA TODAY, Feb 27, 2006

By Stephen David

Software experts have extended a heling hand to stressed-out traffic
cops to better equip them in the management of Bangalore's burgeoning
traffic.

Simputers designed by Encore Software Ltd enable policemen not only to
punish errant drivers on the spot but also track repeat offenders. Cops
can also determine if the vehicle was stolen or whether the driver had
incurred any fines that were still unpaid. They then can write out a
bill and print it with the help of a hand-held printer.

The initiative, launched two years ago with the help of the
Confederation of Indian Industries, has brought a smile on the face of
traffic authorities. "With ever-increasing traffic, monitoring offences
and collecting fines manually had become a daunting task," says
Bangalore Deputy Commissioner of Police for Traffic M A Saleem.

Simputers, connected to the Internet, give traffic policemen access to a
large central database of vehicles, drivers and offences. Data can be
available on more than two million cases in less than two minutes. "In
an instant you can figure out if the offender has any past record
because then it attracts an additional fine," says Saleem.

Encore CEO Vinay Deshpande says, "The Simputer costs about Rs 12,000 a
piece. It also supports multiple applications, from data collection to
micro-banking."

Traffic fine collection has doubled to Rs 72 lakh since the Simputer was
introduced. Earlier, nearly 80 per cent notices sent to offenders were
returned undelivered as either the address used to be wrong or the
offewould have shifted base.

The gadgets have come in handy for sheet statistics as well.

According to traffic authorities, one autorickshaw driver had received
48 notices in just two years but had chosen to ignore all of them. In
another case, an errant car driver had negotiated past 11 notices.

"The Simputer helped us levy multiple fines on them," says Saleem, who
plans to introduce 70 more Simputers in the force this year in addition
to the existing 30.

"The police also plan to incorporate dossiers on criminals (in the
central database)," says the city's Joint Commissioner ofPolice, Gopal
Hosur. "If technology can help streamline traffic and reign in errant
drivers, it is going to go a long way in salving the image of
Bangalore," remarks Professor Joshua Samuel of the Centre for
Contemporary Issues, Bangalore.

The success story appears to be catching on elsewhere also. Last month,
a Delhi Police team was in Bangalore to study the advantages of
Simputers. Way to go.
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US $ 1 approx equals Rs 44.4. Ten 'lakhs' equal one million.