Eons ago, one certain IT co. in Bangalore decided to give a technology boost to the Bangalore Traffic Police. And how exactly? Well, Blackberry was the IN thing those days and that’s exactly what this co. bought for all Traffic Police Inspectors. Yipppeee !!!
Ok..now this device was not used for phone calls..it would be rather stupid right? The cops used these devices to check on traffic offences/violations on any vehicle user. If they find you committing a violation, they stop you, flash their blackberry and type out the offence and shoot out a print from a WiFi connected handheld printer. Kinda geeky eh..
Now , it’s been a few years since these gadgets were introduced to the cops. Off late, these Cops are using these Gadgets rampantly. Modus Operandi – They hang around Traffic signals and glance at the vehicles and randomly punch in registration numbers on the Gadget and if luck has it, that vehicle may have had a violation in the past !! funky stuff. Some repeat offenders are fined heavily and some others get away with lesser fine.
There are some funny encounters on this subject that I’ve noticed –
A few months ago, I was walking past a blackberry touting Cop who had his sidekick, a constable, next to him with a mini printer. Just then, somebody walked up to him and said –
Car owner (along with his driver) – Sir, I would like to check if there are any violations noted on my car.
(Driver is staring at the device in all curiousity)
Cop – is that vehicle yours? ( pointing to a car behind them).
At this point, I got a lil curious too and stopped by to see the ongoing.
Car owner – yes sir.
Cop – oh oh oh…this is Bumper Lottery !!
Car owner – what?
Cop – let me read out the violations – 1 no parking, 1 one way driving, 1 over speeding.
(Car owner staring at the driver while driver hides his face).
Car owner – Sir, I would like to pay up this fine. How much is it?
Cop – Rs 800.
Car owner – sir, will this clear all my violations? Are there more?
Cop- sir, 1st you pay this up. This device can show only 3 violations at a time.
Car owner – ok. Please take this money, clear these and let me know if anymore are there.
Cop –ok..(after clearing this off) Luckily you have no more violation. I should actually be cancelling your driver’s license.
Car owner shouting at the driver walks away.
That’s when I walk up and ask –
Me – Sir, Can I check if there are any violations on my car number? ( I provided my car number)
Cop – Why sir? Have you violated traffic at any time?
Me – no, but there seems to be no harm in checking.
Cop – (after checking_ nothing at all..seems like you are either a good driver or you are lucky.
Me (thinking to myself) – I must be a good driver…and so is my wife then J. Reassured myself and walked off.
One another day I was crossing the road and there was one more Blackberry Cop (nice name eh,..just coined) standing by the side. A cab driver came running to him and enquired if there were any violations.
Cop – tell me your vehicle number.
Cabbie – sir, here is the number (and stated the same)
Cop – Rs 100. Signal jumping.
Cabbie quickly pulled out the money and paid up the fine and briskly walked away and while he was going, he called his cab company and –
Cabbie- Sir, I was stopped by a cop and asked to pay a fine for some violations. It must be the guy who drives in the night shift. The amount is Rs 300. Please put it in my salary tab.
I was shell shocked – from being a sincere Cabbie to a Conman, this cabbie had all the traits. That’s how to make 200 bucks in 2 minutes !!..I guess.
A few days ago, me and 2 of my close friends were driving back home and I’ve no idea why, but this topic came up. I was telling them about these 2 incidents that I knew of and they were narrating theirs. We laughed a lot at all such instances and just then we saw another Blackberry Cop at an Intersection..what a coincidence…We laughed again seeing the cop sneek up and punchy in the reg number of the car in front of us.. I got out of the car and walked across to where I had parked my bike.
Turned around and rode past the junction and guess what, my buddy was parked up alongside the junction..I park up again and go to the spot but by that time he had left.. I realized later that my buddy was a victim of the Blackberry Cop too !!!! Violation – parked in a No parking zone 6 months ago..HAHAHAHAHA…this was probly one of the most hilarious moments of all…
And so sing the Cops – “we are the blackberry boys..”
Irony is that this song is a Vodafone ad whereas the Cops’ BB’s run on Airtel Network !!
av on cruise control 