HYDERABAD: Get ready to pay a penalty of Rs 400 and attend counselling on traffic rules, if you block the way of vehicles taking a left turn at the Free Left turns at important junctions in the city. Similarly, stop line violation will also burn a hole in your pockets from now on because the traffic police have decided on a special drive on Free Left and Stop Line violation.“It is noticed that both two and four-wheeler drivers have been overtaking vehicles waiting for the green signal from the left and obstructing those who want to go left. This is unfair to those who follow traffic rules sincerely, as they feel cheated by those who keep driving past from the left and rush forward when the signal turns green,’’ Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), C V Anand said. The traffic police have identified 57 places at 42 junctions where the road is wide enough to leave a space of about 10 ft for vehicles going on Free Left and decided to penalise who block the Free Left lane. Though a similar drive was enforced some time back, the police said the habit (of leaving free left) did not last long. During the previous drive, the police had painted Free Left markings with double line of white paint.Now, the police have decided to indicate the Free Left with the help of a signage board mounted on a stand at a comfortable height, so that motorists can see it. “The entire Free Left will be physically marked by about 10 cones. There will be a rope which will run from the Free Left board through all the cones to physically prevent motorists from violating Free Left by driving in between the cones,’’ Anand said. These Free Left sign boards and cones will be put at 57 places from 8 a.m and will be removed after 9 p.m. “The special drive will concentrate on educating motorists to stick to the lanes in the junctions without encroaching on the double line drawn for Free Left. Any motorist crossing this double line or touching it would be challaned under sections of lane crossing and also rash driving of the Motor Vehicle Act and would be slapped with a fine of Rs 400,’’ Anand said. On the issue of pedestrians unable to cross the road at the junctions due to Free left, the traffic boss said a traffic constable and a home guard would be posted at the Free Left point to allow pedestrians to cross the road before allowing vehicles to proceed. The police will educate the public at the junctions on Monday and start challaning the violators from Tuesday.Similarly, any two-wheeler stopping beyond the Stop Line would be slapped with a fine of Rs 100 for lane crossing and a four-wheeler would be penalised by Rs 200. “Cameras will be deployed to take photographs of violators of Stop Line and Free Left. Any violating vehicle will be stopped from going straight and will be asked to go all around and come back to the adjacent junction as a deterrent measure,’’ Anand said. The violators will be sent to the Traffic Training Institutes at Goshamahal and Begumpet for counselling.
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