My experience working with traffic police in different cities

I try to smile, wave and express my gratitude to them in the hope that it will make a small difference.

BHPian astrodex recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

I have learned that being polite makes interactions with law enforcement much easier. I always tell them to check whatever they want and let them know that I appreciate their work and keeping us safe.

Karnataka

You often have to travel across the Goa-Karnataka border and back. You have been stopped several times while being tested for alcohol, especially if you are in a car with a non-Goan number plate. When people stop me, I often tell them that I stay in Goa and take this route often. Most of the time they dismiss me with a grin. PS I never bring alcohol across the border at all.

Maharashtra

There were too many checks during the election campaign, and this time I was in a utility vehicle. At the third stop, I was tired and asked him sincerely if he felt that with so many policemen on the highway, I would have been checked 3 or 4 times before I reached Pune. I told him that my documents had been checked so many times that they were in order and he was just wasting his time. He agreed and abandoned me.

Goa

He pulled out of a traffic jam onto the open highway and was immediately stopped by police officers standing in the middle of the road. Some cars swerved and sped away, but I slowed down and stopped. An angry senior policeman signaled to me. When asked what kind of emergency it was, I replied that there was none, it was just a sunny day, the traffic had improved, the road was good, and it just happened. He asked me how fast I was going and I told him I was sure I was fast and if he had to risk his life to stand in the road to stop me, I was definitely speeding. He took my license, came back 10 minutes later and said he was only leaving me with a warning because I was being truthful.

Kerala

It was not so much a challan as it was a parking lot in Sabarimala where I saw a poor policeman working hard to control the traffic. He came to rest and I stood there and just walked up to him and thanked him for his work. I really felt sorry for the tireless work and fumes he endured for the sake of the pilgrims. Didn’t think much about it until I was returning from darshan and the guy saw me in the car, smiled broadly, saluted and drove the car out. Felt like a celebrity!

I’ve had my fair share of police scandals and instances of them asking for money for the most frivolous of reasons, but these days when I see them under the scorching sun and pollution doing a rather thankless job, I often feel that if I If I were in their place, I would be angry too. So if nothing happens, I try to smile, wave and express my gratitude in hopes that it will make a little difference.

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