Chennai: Don’t be surprised if a traffic policeman clicks a photograph of your vehicle on his mobile phone, even on roads equipped with automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras. Greater Chennai Traffic Police (GCTP) have instructed personnel to intensify checks against helmet violations, particularly involving women pillion riders, and ensure that women reluctant to wear helmets are not let off with mere warnings.Traffic police said women pillion riders frequently resisted wearing helmets, citing discomfort, difficulty in maintaining hairstyles and the inconvenience of carrying an additional helmet. Officials have made it clear that such reasons cannot be grounds for exemption from a safety rule.The instructions come amid concerns over helmet-related fatalities. In Chennai, 25 people riding without helmets lost their lives between Jan and June 2026, compared with 21 in the corresponding period of 2025.As part of the drive, traffic personnel at road junctions have been directed to use phones to photograph violations during non-peak hours. Now, instead of stopping motorists and engaging in arguments, personnel can capture photographs of offending vehicles and initiate action through e-challans.“Wearing a helmet is equally important for riders and pillion riders. There cannot be any gender-based exemption when it comes to road safety. We are registering violations without discrimination and have instructed our personnel to intensify enforcement,” said P Pagalavan, joint commissioner of police (traffic).Police have also been instructed to focus on motorists crossing stop lines, triple riding on two-wheelers and vehicles displaying defective number plates.A senior traffic official said road junctions are often manned by a single cop who is usually occupied with regulating signals and managing traffic flow. The new instructions are intended to ensure that violations do not go unnoticed even when personnel are engaged in traffic regulation.Meanwhile, GCTP enforcement data showed a steady decline in helmet violations over the past three months. Cases involving riders without helmets dropped from 41,540 in June to 39,320 in July and 36,850 in Aug. Similarly, violations involving pillion riders without helmets declined from 33,560 in June to 31,430 in July and 28,981 in Aug.However, signal-jumping violations increased from 16,975 in July to 17,620 in Aug, marginally exceeding the 17,520 cases recorded in June. Despite the decline in helmet violations, riding without helmets continued to account for the largest share of traffic offences recorded during the three-month period.
