Naeem Sadiq
It is more difficult to detect a suspicious looking person as compared to a suspicious looking vehicle. While the former requires some understanding of psychology and human behaviour, the later is a comparatively simple affair, based on an individual’s ability to recognise if the moving object on the road is in fact a vehicle and if it is carrying or not, a registered number plate.
Just to give you an example, I find most politicians very suspicious looking. That is however not a good reason for me to report against them. However each time I leave my house, I easily recognise a large number of vehicles which have either no number plate or an illegal number plate such as “Zinda Hey BB”, ‘Laghari1’, “Durrani 2″, ‘lashari 3”, “Bhutto 4”, “Junagarh 5”, “MNA’, “MPA”, “Chief of jhalayan tribe”, etc etc.
In one interesting case some half a dozen vehicles owned by the same individual carry the same number plate “VII”. Most of these vehicles belong to ministers, parliamentarians and other powerful law breakers of the land. This blatant breach of law is visible to all those hundreds of policemen, who remain dutifully engaged in stopping the two wheelers for extracting their pound of flesh, but whose eyes are carefully trained not to recognise the violating vehicles of the powerful and unlawful urban militants.
These pictures, taken at random in Karachi in the past few weeks, just to give you a feel of the size of the problem. You will also appreciate that most big crime is conducted by big people in big vehicles. So the trick is to go after the big.
We need to begin by prosecuting the small crimes by big people, so that they can never get to the big crimes they will ultimately do otherwise: no number plate, unlawful number plate, any sign such as MPA, that hides the original number plate, armed guards, black tinted glasses etc. Intensive training should then be organised for police force in vehicular recognition, the design, types and need for number plates, what is an illegal number plate, and how to stop, challan and if required confiscate such vehicles.
On a lighter note, a half decent title, and a suitable packaging such as “Access to Road Justice,” would easily qualify the project for a handsome ADB loan.
If only the police were to enforce this very basic and visible violation of law, its respect would go up many times in the eyes of the public, which may then develop some trust in reporting the events that are actually not visible to the police.
ATP Editors Note: These photographs are from Karachi but such violations are found everywhere and the problem is nationwide.
“Primus inter pares”,
– is not this what it is about……?
Nothing new. It has been done before. Honestly speaking do you really think anyone gives a hoot? It is for no reason we are known as the subcontinental monkeys. Best advice, eat some peanuts and walk away, trust me on this, this is best for you.
its highlight of our jageerdari and wadera shahi culture.
Here is an excerpt from a Portland Oregan newspaper. Interesting thing is how smoothly this event went and I am sure the office who issued the citation has not been killed yet.
September 3, 2004
Video shows trooper is surprised by Al Gore
PORTLAND, ORE. – One month ago Oregon State Trooper Eric Tholberg made another routine traffic stop, yet what Tholberg did not know at the time was the man behind the wheel would not be in the position of getting a speeding ticket if the presidential election had gone differently in 2000.
Al Gore never had a chance to be president; so he stepped from the national spotlight back into normal American life, which includes speeding tickets.
“The reason I’m stopping you, is I checked your speed at 77 miles per hour,” Tholberg said to the driver of a rental car. “Do you have any legal justification for going that fast today?”
“Uh, no, I just didn’t realize it’d slipped up there,” Gore said to the trooper who did not recognize him as the former vice president.
On the police video, Trooper Tholberg can be seen walking back to his cruiser, then suddenly voices his surprise into the police radio after he takes a closer look at the driver’s license he was just been handed.
“No way!”
Just to be sure, he heads back to the rental car for another look.
“This name’s just now kicking in to me. Are you the Al Gore I think you are?” asks Tholberg.
“Yes, I am, Yeah.” said Gore.
“(Chuckle) alright. I’ll be back,” responds Tholberg.
Back in his cruiser – Tholberg cuts the former vice president a break. He writes the ticket for 75 miles an hour instead of 77 because the price of the ticket goes up over 75 miles an hour.
Tholberg told KATU he did that, not because Al Gore almost became the most powerful man in the world, but because he has given the same courtesy to other drivers.
He then explained what Gore did not know about the sometimes-dangerous highway.
“We have a lot of bad crashes on this highway,” Tholberg
Some comments from the ATP Facebook page:
– “usuall in lhr”
– “not only karachi……the whole country has the problem……the elite of this country is habitual of such stuff……”
– “in crachi is most”
– “yeah agreee”
– “yes, it is a problem everywhere. But what should we do about it. I like idea of ATP putting these up and exposing those breaking the law.”
– “Nothing new or surprising here. When the so called “elite” are the crooks and the hoods this is what they’ll do.”