Do you know why traffic signal lights have an Amber/Yellow light?

Well, that was a question I was asked by a Traffic Policeman on 30th September 2010. The location was near Thoraippakkam on OMR and was roundabouts of here. The reason why that Traffic Policeman asked me that question was because, he "caught" me skipping a signal in that area.

This is what happened. I was returning home with my friend a little early that day. That day also happened to be the date when the verdict of the Ayodha Case (pertaining to ownership of land) was supposed to be announced and my office had asked all employees to leave by 3 PM. I usually return home by ECR whenever I go to the office closer home. But to avoid few sensitive pockets there, I opted to take the OMR.

When I was nearing the aforementioned signal on OMR, the green changed to amber/yellow. I was slightly distracted by a car readying to take U-turn from the opposite side and opted to not stop my car. I increased the speed and when I crossed the Stop Line, the signal turned Red. I could obviously not stop at that stage and drove on, only to be stopped by a Traffic Policeman.

Unlike my previous experience being stopped by a Traffic Policeman, this guy didn't come around waving any stick. The road was empty and I was also at a relatively slower speed of 50-55 KmPH. So, he basically just wandered into my lane and directed me to pull over.

After I stopped my vehicle, he came over and asked me the question "Signal-la yellow light yaen pottirukku theriyuma? Slow down pannarthukku. Fast-a varathukku illa. Vaanga, vandhu fine kattitu poanga". I responded that I couldn't slow down since I was at 40 and that was why I crossed it. The guy didn't buy it and said that they have timed the Amber/Yellow such that everyone can stop peacefully after seeing it!

I got down from my car and went up to the Police jeep, where to my satisfaction, I saw 5 others talking with the Policemen there. I saw the Police fill out challans to 2 of them and collecting Rs.300/- each. These both were car drivers. There were 3 others who were trying to argue with the Policeman who stopped me, but he was clear that people had violated the signal. And he was not willing to accept any deals and simply asked them all to pay up the Rs.300/- and collect the challan.

Meanwhile, the challan preparing Policeman and his partner, asked me for my license and started writing down details. I asked the partner Policeman if this was a spot fine and he responded in the affirmative. I then told him to see if there was an option whereby he could just write me a challan or ticket and we could settle this in court.

The guy, who till then didn't even make eye-contact with me, finally looked up and asked why I wanted to do it. I told him that I wanted to contest this booking and so, wanted only a court summons and not a spot fine. He asked me why I wanted to go to the court and what would be my plea? Would I argue that I hadn't skipped the signal?

I told him that I wasn't going to refute the fact that I skipped the signal. However, I was going to explain to the court that since I was at the upper limit of the permitted speed on that road, I didn't have enough time to stop when I saw the amber. That, if I had still halted, I would have done so with a major screech and could very well have made the vehicle following me, bump into me. And furthermore, I would have definitely crossed the Stop Line and would have stopped in the middle of the road and become an obstruction to traffic. Also, the same Policemen would have then fined me for stopping after the Stop Line.

All of this, I told him in a very firm yet non-argumentative tone. I was also surprisingly not nervous about the whole deal (probably because it was my second interaction with the Highway Patrol folks in 12 months) and so, had a very confident looking body language as well. I definitely think that all those soft-skill training sessions I took in my formative years in the Corporate World, finally paid their due.

The Policeman then took a very advisory tone and told me that I may very well be a very big Officer in my company, but that I had to respect the Traffic Rules. I told him that I always do and just that, due to reasons given earlier, I couldn't stop after seeing the Amber/Yellow. He then took a pause and told the challan-writer to make the fine for only Rs.100/- since I was giving out so many valid points! He turned to me and said that, that was all he could do.

I thanked him and returned to my car. After I came home, I handed over the ticket to my father. Since my mother was quite engrossed with the media coverage of the verdict, we didn't tell her about it. I then had a quick look at the back-side of the challan and found that the rates for all Spot Fines were listed there.

And for skipping signals, the fine amount was only Rs.50, whereas I had paid Rs.100 after I'd argued myself from a Rs.300 demand. So my advice to all of you folks who are pulled up to pay Spot Fines, is to (1) talk to them in a firm tone without sounding aggressive or offensive and (2) indicate that you wont mind going to court and (3) tell them that Spot Fines are always only Rs.50.

And finally, if you still don't know why traffic signal lights change from green to amber/yellow, it is to apparently to caution the drivers to slow down!

Fined on the spot for over-speeding

It was around 5.30 PM on Wednesday the 17th of September 2008. I was returning home from office with a couple of friends in my car. I have been working out of the office closer home for the past couple of months and that day was one of those days.

So, there I was, happily coasting along the ECR at my usual speed of 80 KmPH in the stretch near Hot Kitchen restaurant. Suddenly in the middle of my lane, there appeared an apparition dressed in white shirt and khaki trousers and waving a big stick at me. I started braking and found out the apparition to be a real traffic constable.

He pointed me to the edge of the road using that big stick. When I pulled over, he came up to my window. I rolled it down and with my heart beating a little faster than normal, I asked him what was the matter. He responded by asking me why I was going so fast.

He confirmed my fear that I was pulled over for going faster than the posted speed limit. He then came closer to our car and said:
"400 rupees fine sir".
Me: "How much?"
TP (Traffic Police; abbreviation should not bring any other explanation to your mind): "400 rupees sir".
Me: "Ok, I am willing to pay the fine".
I then got out of my car.
TP: "Or you can pay 300 rupees fine and collect the challan."
Me: "Ok sir. Whatever is the fine, let me know and I will pay it. No problem."
TP: "Then it is 300 rupees sir."
Me: "Ok. Where do I pay?"
TP: "First give me your license"
I handed it over. He checked it. Then, he escorted me a few steps behind to where a patrol jeep was standing. He told a policeman standing in front of the jeep to prepare a spot fine challan for 300 rupees.
He then went off to the main road and I saw him do a similar waving gesture at a WagonR that was also coming at a good speed in that stretch. After successfully stopping that car, this dude came over to the patrol jeep. The policeman preparing the spot fine ticket and the receipt for the fine was quite busy with his paperwork. By then we were joined by another policeman, who looked a Sergeant-ish type. The gesticulating TP then came near his senior and said "sir, he accepted to pay whatever the fine was sir. he is a gentleman sir". I was instantly reminded of the famous Enna romba nallavannu sollittaan ma statement of Vadivelu!

Anyways, I never intended to bribe these policemen in the first place and even if the fine had been of much higher proportions, I would have paid it or at least collected the ticket to contest it in court.

My license was then handed back to me along with the spot fine ticket and the receipt. I paid the 300 rupees and before leaving the scene, I asked the gesticulating TP what the speed limit was in that area. He told that one could go up to 60 but I was going at 79! I assumed that he did track me on a radar or better still, he was able to guess my speed quite perfectly.

Ever since, my friends have been strongly cautioning me when I near that stretch, to go slow. However this does not come anywhere close to the warnings my parents were giving me while we were all in the USA and I got a speeding ticket right in front of them!

And please, do not jump to the conclusion that I am some speeding maniac on the road. Those of you who have travelled with me know full well that I don't drive that fast except on stretches that are really empty and the road is quite straight.

There is another bit of irony to this episode. It was only that same morning, that I was talking to a couple of team members that I don't drive that fast!!!