From Misbehaviour To Missing Stepney: 68 Ways To Attract Traffic Fine

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): When people think of traffic violations, the usual ones that come to mind are not wearing a helmet, a seat belt, or over-speeding. But in reality, there are 68 different ways one can violate traffic laws, many of which are surprisingly unknown to the public.

Traffic police deal with a wide range of violations every day, especially involving commercial and heavy vehicles, where rules are stricter compared to bikes and private cars. Beyond the common offences, there are dozens of lesser-known regulations that even professional drivers overlook or are unaware of. 

For instance, a driver can be fined for not wearing a proper uniform or for not stopping when signalled by uniformed personnel. Commercial drivers face penalties for not carrying a fire extinguisher or a first-aid box, refusing to carry passengers, or dropping them at unsafe spots.

Some rules may sound minor, but they play a vital role in safety, like not having a spare tyre (stepney), damaged tyre, broken windows, making passengers sit on the footboard of a bus, carrying passengers in loading vehicles, no parking lights, or faulty headlights and indicators. There are even fines for using a modified silencer, excessive honking, multi-sound horns, or allowing an unauthorised person to drive the vehicle.

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Drivers can also be penalised for smoking while driving, displaying ads on vehicles without permission, or racing without authorisation. Even the misbehaviour of the driver or charging more than the metered fare, or a defunct meter, can lead to a challan.

Additional DCP (Traffic) Basant Kaul said that these rules indicate that road safety is not just about wearing a helmet or following speed limit but also about ensuring every vehicle on the road, big or small, is run responsibly and safely. 

Challans for lesser-known violations

• 20 challans issued for smoking while driving during the past 3 years

• 12 challans issued in three years for using vehicles for advertising without permission

• 3 challans issued in 2025 for broken windows

• One challan for a damaged tyre in 2025

• 51 challans made for charging more than the meter in 2023 

• 3 challans in 2024 and one in 2025 for misbehaviour by drivers

• 67 challans for the absence of a fire extinguisher in the past three years

• 141 for the absence of a first-aid box in the past three years

• 9 for allowing an unauthorised person to drive, in three years

• 15 challans for no stepney in three years

• Only one challan for racing in 2023

Fewer riders not wearing helmets

Traffic cops issued 17,804 challans for not wearing helmets till September this year while it was 37,685 in 2024 and 35,547 in 2023. For not wearing seat belts, 5,836 challans have been made till September this year. It was 10,112 in 2024 and 9,020 in 2023.

[Story by Farhan Ahmed Siddiqui]