Stopped By the Traffic Police? Here Are Your Rights And Things You Should Ask

The police are not to be feared if you're not in the wrong. That's should be the case ideally but unfortunately, in India, that's not always true. We hear about so many instances of police misbehaviour that we tend to get nervous while interacting with them. Sometimes, that can make them more suspicious and could lead to them eating up more of your time than they had wanted to. At such times, it's important to know your own rights and that's what this piece is going to be all about. This is a crash course on dealing with the traffic police.

Documents to carry

First things first. Always keep these documents in your vehicle:

• Registration Certificate (RC)
• Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate
• Insurance documents
• Driving license

In case you are stopped by the traffic police, they will first ask you for your driver's license and hold onto it till they give you the clearance to get going again. This is done to hold leverage over you in case you decide to give them the slip. If you can produce all the documents mentioned above, they will have to let you pass as long as haven't done anything wrong.

Rights every driver must be aware of

• A police officer must always be in uniform. If they aren't, you won't be in the wrong to ask them for their ID card. And if they refuse, you can refuse to show them your documents as well.
• According to the Motor Vehicles Act, a traffic police officer can only ask you for your driver's license. Whether you show them your other documents or not is completely dependent on your choice.
• If you get handed a fine, it should come from an official receipt book or an e-challan machine. If there's no such receipt, you are essentially paying a bribe.
• In case the traffic police decide to confiscate any of your documents, ask for a receipt of the same as well.
• A police officer cannot take your car keys away from you without your permission.
• The police are not allowed to tow your vehicle if you're sitting inside it.
• In case of harassment from the police, you can file an official complaint about the same at the nearest police station.
• If you get arrested for any alleged offence, you will be taken to the police station first. Following this, the police have to present you in court within the next 24 hours.

Those being all the rules you must be aware of, there's one golden rule that you must always abide by. And that is to avoid getting into arguments with traffic police officers. That's because they have the authority to make arrests without issuing a warrant. They also have the right to demand a breath test and can arrest you if you refuse to take it. Make sure to remember all these rules and drive safe.