Jaipur: Road safety groups have flagged serious knowledge gaps among traffic officials in the city, even as the state govt expands staffing in the traffic wing.They said refresher courses attended by personnel revealed weak understanding of core road safety issues, including traffic signage, relevant laws and basic traffic engineering. Over the years, multiple reports highlighting these shortcomings have been submitted to senior officers in the Jaipur police commissionerate.Rohit Baluja, director of the Institute of Road Traffic Management, said assessments show traffic officials lack nearly 30% of the knowledge required before being posted in the traffic wing. “At the police academy, the course includes a traffic-related chapter, but it focuses more on penal codes than on offences. Unless there is clarity on the nature and causes of violations, how can enforcement be effective?” he said.Officials attributed the issue to the absence of a dedicated traffic cadre in Rajasthan. Personnel posted in the traffic wing are often transferred to regular policing roles, including station house officers, limiting scope for specialisation.Speaking to TOI, Jaipur Police commissioner Sachin Mittal stated that all traffic officials are well aware of the provisions of the MV Act. “There may be a few gaps in some ascpects. Such gaps are precisely why personnel are sent for training. “These courses are meant to address deficiencies and improve knowledge,” Mittal said.Road safety groups said the problem extends beyond Jaipur. They cited a recent viral video from Nagaur, where a traffic official issued a pollution challan to an electric vehicle, as an example of poor awareness of enforcement norms.Neha Khullar, executive director of Muskaan Foundation of Road Safety, said a recent training programme for investigating officers from accident police stations and traffic inspectors in Jaipur found that over 89% were unaware of different traffic signages.She added that the transport dept faces an even bigger challenge, especially among inspectors at regional transport offices. Unlike police personnel, transport inspectors have wider jurisdiction and authority to determine fines for various violations.“While the police conduct refresher courses to address such lapses, similar efforts are lacking in the transport dept,” Khullar said.FOR GPHXTraffic reforms boots manpowerADCP posts increased from 2 to 4, one in each of four districtsACP (Traffic) posts increased from 4 to 8, two per districtTraffic inspectors increased from 15 to 20, at least 5 in each districtJaipur commissionerate jurisdiction to be divided into 72 beatsITMS to be implemented in phases as requiredModifications to traffic inspectors’ uniforms
