69,000 issued e-challans for jumping signal this year: Delhi Police

The Delhi Traffic Police has issued e-challans to more than 69,000 drivers who jumped a traffic signal in the Capital between January 1 and March 15, officers aware of the matter said on Monday, adding that nine of the worst 10 areas with the highest number of such violations were in the south police district.
Data shared by the traffic police revealed that as on March 15, 69,296 vehicles have been issued e-challans for jumping a traffic signal this year — a three-fold increase from the 21,089 e-challans issued for the same offence in the corresponding period last year. However, 59,937 people were issued e-challans during the same period in 2022, the data reveals.
These e-challans, officers said, were issued using cameras equipped with the Red Light Violation Detection (RLVD) system. “The cameras detect vehicles violating traffic rules at a red light and send details to a control room for e-challaning under relevant sections of the motor vehicle (MV) Act without any human contact,” said special commissioner of police (traffic) HGS Dhaliwal.
This year so far, the traffic signal that recorded the maximum number of violations was at Nauroji Nagar near the AIIMS trauma centre, logging 6,061 such violations, which translates to more than 80 people jumping this particular signal per day.
Second on the list was a location near the Loha Mandi at Naraina in west Delhi, that logged 5,023 cases of drivers jumping the traffic signal.
The remaining 8 areas are in south Delhi — Moolchand from Sarai Kale Khan (4,178 e-challans), Moolchand from Chirag Delhi (3,695), Bhikaji Cama Place from Dhaula Kuan (3,435), Bhikaji Cama Place from Sarai Kale Khan (3,214), Moti Bagh from Sarai Kale Khan (3,202), Moolchand from Dhaula Kuan (2,730), Lajpat Nagar from Sarai Kale Khan (2,709), and Andrews Ganj from Dhaula Kuan (2,645).
A traffic police officer aware of the matter said that they recorded a high number of traffic infractions in 2022 because the previous year, cameras with the RLVD system were introduced on a large scale in Delhi.
“RLVD cameras were introduced in 2021 during the Covid-19 period, when fewer vehicles were seen on the roads. In 2022, the number of vehicles increased as there were no restrictions. As motorists were not aware of the RLVD cameras, nearly 60,000 vehicle owners received e-challans after their vehicles were captured in cameras jumping red lights, creating a deterrence for 2023,” the officer said, on condition of anonymity.
Asked why the number of violators increased in 2024, the officer said that around 50 RLVD cameras have been installed at 10 new locations in the city, which commuters are yet to know about.