[blackwasp]

A few days ago, I had some work in Belapur and as many might know, finding a parking spot there is a pain. I roamed about for 10 mins before ending up parking in this spot. Now, I ensured there were no 'no parking' signs around and even ensured that my was car was not in the way.

After my chores (say 30 mins) I came up and saw a clamped wheel, with a sticker with a phone number stuck on the driver's window. I called the number and they said someone would come over.

5 mins later, a lad comes up on a bike with a bunch of keys and unclamps. We discuss lack of signages and I pay the fine and he goes on his merry way. Last night, while checking my wheels, I saw a nice little spot where the paint was scrapped on the front right wheel. It took me a few moments to put two and two together that this was a result of the clamp.

Now, don't get me wrong, if it's my mistake, I'm happy to pay the fine and ensure it doesn't happen again, but I'm sure the authorities can handle it much better. With online challan system being activated, why can't the cops just fine the offenders instead of going with the hassle of clamping 4 wheelers and picking up 2 wheelers.

I ended up being quite sad to see my car's alloy scratched like this. We take good care of our cars and it's just a mood killer.

Just sharing this experience out here with the wild hopes that someone in the higher-ups sees this and implements a better system.

[Beemer1077]

I am sorry for what you faced. But this is the bitter truth about how majority of the times, given their old school training and mindsets, especially due to the beyond outdated Police Act of 1861, cops in India are ultra-arrogant, unprofessional and behave as if they are above the law. So they do not care about damage to someone else's property whether they are at fault or not. And forget cars and bikes, they do not even spare bicycles. Several times on bicycles, I have had to literally argue with them, and it seems that their attitudes do not seem to change -

* In 2010, while living in Pune, for riding on Lakdi Bridge, where bicycles were not allowed, they deflated tires of bicyclists. I was once a victim of that, but I started recording, to then upload on Facebook, since YouTube and Instagram were at infancy. The cops threatened to confiscate my phone and impound my bicycle, to which I said that wait, let me call someone in Delhi, as my father used to live there. One constable said let it be, you can go, but be careful next time. As a minor, I was lucky, and subsequently, I evaded them as much as possible after riding on the bridge. For once, I even rammed into a constable on that bridge, but somehow I escaped after pedaling as fast as possible.

* Same year, while riding to Jr College (my 12th), my brakes on the bicycles were not working properly, and I ended up ramming into a tow truck, and it caused a dent near the taillight. A constable sitting inside the cabin of the truck came down, saw the damage, and asked me if I was drunk. Furious with this remark, I said you guys have the audacity to damage other's vehicles, but you have an issue if a bicyclists damages your piece of junk. He got upset with the insult and it let to a verbal argument. The situation escalated when his men took my bicycle(I was not on it), put it on the truck, and the arrogant cop told me to pay fines for the damages at the police station and then only it will be released. I was about to deflate the wheels on the truck(even thought of smashing the windshield), when his senior on patrolling arrived at the scene after seeing the bicycle on the truck bed, and de-escalated the situation. He ordered the constable to release my bicycle after listening to my story, and people around me, leaving me with a warning once again.

* In July 2018, as an adult, and now living in the US, I was visiting my uncle in Mumbai and took his bicycle for a joyride, when I was riding on a bridge that was not allowed for 2-wheelers(no mention of bicycles). Do not remember where it was, but as soon as I descended, a cop stopped me, demanded my license, and said that I should pay a penalty of Rs 200. Questioning on what charges, he issued a receipt and charged me under a relevant section of the Motor Vehicles Act. After searching on Google, I found that the MVA did not mention any penalties against bicycles. I refused to pay the fine after showing him my phone screen, so he used a clamp on the bicycle tire. Since the situation did not get any better, his senior came and released me, and requested that I do not ride on bridges for my own safety. I replied that either you put signs on bridges regarding bicycles, or you should give warnings if someone pedaling enters by mistake.

* Days after the Phase 1 of Coastal road opened, I started pedaling on that road, as I was looking to clear my head after my paternal grandfather passed in his sleep at 97(he loved bicycling too like me but stopped by the age of 80). After I exited the tunnel, 2 cops pulled me over, stating that there are no bicycles allowed - despite my mental state, I had observed about no bicycle signs, which I stated to them as well. When one of them demanded my license, I refused, and he issued penalties for three offenses - riding on prohibited road though section was used 179 which mentioned disobeying authority(Rs 1000), dangerous driving under section 184(Rs 1000), and riding without license under section 181(Fine Rs 5000). While again none of them came under MVA, I argued, and recorded all on my phone. Things escalated when I asked them to take it from the coffers of BMC after mentioning about corruption in both cops and BMC, which I used something that was insulting(called BMC as Bhrastachari Municipal Corporation in front of them). One of them locked a wheel of the bicycle, while other one went to the side called a tow truck, later stating that they will tow away my bicycle for non payment of penalties. Before the truck came, I disclosed my badge of United States Air Force, saying that if they seize my bicycle for absurd rules and detain me, they will have to answer the Government and give me humane treatment under the Geneva Conventions. The cops were clueless about this, and seeing no way out, they just let me off with a warning. Before I left, I also showed my photos in Uniform, which left them surprised, stating the it does look good.

I will say that from all this, cops are unprofessional, careless, greedy, and irresponsible. It does not apply to all, but the actions of most of them damages the reputation of everyone. Furthermore, it is unbelievable that most of Indian Police personnel who learn a lot of things in training do not know a thing about the Geneva Conventions - although it is mostly applicable during war, law enforcement and armed forces are under obligation to grant humane treatment to service members of other nations, or else it becomes an international incident and can stain the nation indulging in that.

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

I ended up being quite sad to see my car's alloy scratched like this. We take good care of our cars and it's just a mood killer.

Sad to see this happen, a small scratch is all that is enough to put us off for the day. I would rather look at this as a minimal damage, atleast the car wasn't towed away, which would have resulted in an even more severe damage (bumper, fender and what not), perils of owning a car in India i say.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

I ended up being quite sad to see my car's alloy scratched like this

Sorry for you @blackwasp. Some views as follows:

1. The damage/scratch wouldn't have been this deep on a hyper silver alloy (like the yesteryear ones)
2. Most alloy wheels that have been painted black or any other shade will show up even the slightest scratch prominently. This is coz the layer of finish is quite thin. I was evaluating an Ignis for someone last week and found the alloys had picked up a lot of scratches. There was this limited edition Pajero Sport in end-2014 that came painted bronze. Even that example showed the bronze disappearing.

If the cops are kind enough, I'd request them to line the clamps with soft rubber so that this damage to the alloys can be prevented or at least made negligible.

[SuperGirl_Dad]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

5 mins later, a lad comes up on a bike with a bunch of keys and unclamps. We discuss lack of signages and I pay the fine and he goes on his merry way. Last night, while checking my wheels, I saw a nice little spot where the paint was scrapped on the front right wheel. It took me a few moments to put two and two together that this was a result of the clamp.

Now, don't get me wrong, if it's my mistake, I'm happy to pay the fine and ensure it doesn't happen again, but I'm sure the authorities can handle it much better. With online challan system being activated, why can't the cops just fine the offenders instead of going with the hassle of clamping 4 wheelers and picking up 2 wheelers.

Can you kindly let us know how much was the fine?

ps: On a tangential note, why dont our cities have paid parking meters or pay via FasTag option? I'm pretty sure many folks will be happy to pay ₹50 for half hour as parking charge, rather than 500 as fine . The corporation bloke could have gone around with a scanner and charge the money from Fastag every half hour .

pps: A small tip: Maybe you could have stopped by the local adjacent store to buy some items and ask the owner to sort out the car parking. This usually works in Chennai atleast.

[Sumanyu17]

I know this hurts but don't think about it too much. I also own an Ignis with these alloys and they scratch very easily. I just keep a 50ml black enamel paint and a brush at home and patch them up when required. The paint blends in beautifully and also holds up well, I've never had to rework on a defect.

[Small Bot]

I've seen cops do a slightly saner job in Chennai in recent days. Unless you do something utterly stupid like parking on the roads exiting the airport/any hospital/ government building (and therefore blocking people from leaving), the cops generally take a photo and challan you. Only in certain cases like the ones listed above, do they bring out the clamps.

That said, most security personnel in malls and tech park parking lots are unnervingly over-eager with their clamps. Anything beyond a day and they start clamping down vehicles.

Discussions about the legality go nowhere as they claim it's technically not public property.

[deepakc]

The curb is painted yellow and black, isn't that the sign for No Parking?

[PreludeSH]

Originally Posted by deepakc

The curb is painted yellow and black, isn't that the sign for No Parking?

No, that's how the edges are always painted to increase visibility across India.

[akg7091]

Originally Posted by Beemer1077

I disclosed my badge of United States Air Force, saying that if they seize my bicycle for absurd rules and detain me, they will have to answer the Government and give me humane treatment under the Geneva Conventions.

Geneva conventions
Traffic constable would be like

[NomadSK]

Ouch, that might have pinched unnecessarily.

From the picture it looks like that you have parked at the curve of the intersection.

I guess, before or after an intersection up to a certain distance (not sure) from the edge of the intersection, is considered to be a no-parking zone.

But what happened to that grey metallic car, logically that should have been also clamped.

And Bolero on Zebra crossing (if stationary) takes the cake.

By the way, if someone replaces the clamped tire with spare, and then later cut the clamp, how the authorities will track you

[Sachin_s74]

Hello blackwasp,

Sad to see this happen. In countries outside India, the police handle the impounded vehicles very carefully. Else the owner can file a suit. They use lifting tackle with nylon slings so that even the paint does not get scratches.

[Beemer1077]

Originally Posted by akg7091

Geneva conventions
Traffic constable would be like

Most of the police personnel are not aware of any Geneva Conventions at all.

I wish it becomes a part of police training process in case they have to deal with service members involved in any trouble, even if it is a peace time situation. Using the Geneva Conventions also helped me evade paying customs at the airports while landing at BOM.

Back to the topic, traffic cops, are most of the time overly stressed. And then with the lack of public awareness, many suffer that kind of entrapment.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by Beemer1077

But this is the bitter truth about how majority of the times, given their old school training and mindsets, especially due to the beyond outdated Police Act of 1861, cops in India are ultra-arrogant, unprofessional and behave as if they are above the law. So they do not care about damage to someone else's property whether they are at fault or not.

*Snipped

1) You knew bicycles were not allowed on a bridge. Yet you chose to and started arguing with them. You even claim to have rammed into a constable at some time!

Yet you blame cops...

2) Your cycle brakes were not working properly and you banged into a truck and made a dent. Yet you argued and heck even wanted to smash windshield and deflate tyres!

Yet you blame cops...

3) Wonder how may wheels a bicycle has. You assumed cycles were not included and refused to own up

Yet you blame cops...

4) Yet again you went on a road that apparently disallows 2 wheelers and argued with cops and even used invalid authority to wiggle your way out

Yet you blame cops...

Now cops by your statement are arrogant, above the law, unprofessional because of their old school training and mindsets...That is their excuse.

Wondering what yours is.

[White bird]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

A few days ago, I had some work in Belapur and as many might know, finding a parking spot there is a pain. I roamed about for 10 mins before ending up parking in this spot. Now, I ensured there were no 'no parking' signs around and even ensured that my was car was not in the way.

From the photos it looks like your car was parked on a curve or was improperly parked. You are lucky that your car was not towed away, which is the normal procedure in most countries. The car was parked in a dangerous position from what is seen in the photo. Give a thought to other road users.