Mumbai, May 26 -- Over 10,000 first information reports (FIRs) for rash and negligent driving were registered across the city in 2024, a massive jump from 2023 when only 404 such FIRs were registered in different city police stations, based on complaints from the traffic police. According to data from the traffic police for the year 2024, 8,588 FIRs were registered under sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC); 582 FIRs were registered under IPC sections 279 and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others); and 1,628 FIRs were registered under IPC sections 279 and 338 (causing grievous hurt by an act which endangers human life). Joint commissioner of police Anil Kumbhare said following the registration of FIRs, driving licences of errant motorists were either suspended or cancelled depending on the nature of their offence. "Rash driving continues to remain a major problem in certain parts of the city such as Sakinaka, Chakala, Powai, Nagpada, the Western Express Highway and Oshiwara," Kumbhare said. The Motor Vehicles Amendment Act, 2019 - which enables police to book motorists violating traffic rules under the Indian Penal Code - was notified by the state government in 2021. This law made rash driving, including driving on the wrong side, a non-compoundable offence and required offenders to appear in court as opposed to being fined on the spot. The penalty for wrong-side driving was fixed at Rs.500-1,000 and/ or three months of imprisonment. Mumbai police started registering FIRs for rash driving in major way in 2022, when then police commissioner Sanjay Pande led the effort. Pande had directed police officers to register FIRs if motorists were found driving on the wrong side. Instruction were also issued to impound their vehicles and produce them before courts. While the practice continued after Pande's tenure and the number of FIRs for rash driving rose significantly, accidents involving wrong side and rash driving have not come down, said sources in the traffic police. Aside from registering FIRs, the traffic police penalised 6.5 million motorists in 2024 for violating traffic rules. Penalties worth Rs.526 crore were imposed, of which only Rs.157 crore was collected. The traffic police, through its 41 divisions and the multimedia department, penalised motorists under 26 categories of traffic violations, data from the traffic police showed. RTI activist Anil Galgali said the traffic police had done a satisfactory job but were unable to take effective action owing to a shortage of officers and staff. "A special recovery drive is necessary to collect the pending fines from offenders," he said. "Digital notices must be issued to defaulting vehicle owners and vehicles of major defaulters must be seized."...