Only 20 per cent of motorists in the city are women, but police estimate that 40 per cent of traffic offences are committed by them. It is due to the lack of women constables and sub-inspectors that more women drivers do not get booked for driving offences, the cops say. In the special drive against drunken driving, cops said women drivers are often let off because of the absence of a women’s wing in the traffic police. Moreover, an increasing number of younger women have been caught for over speeding.
Roughly six per cent of traffic offences registered in the city are against women offenders. The figure is low because women are generally let off with warnings. There are only four women constables and five women home guards and not a single woman SI. So far, only 12 female drivers have been caught during the special drive against drivers.
Additional commissioner of police (traffic) C.V. Anand says, “There is a need for a women’s wing in the traffic police as it is very difficult to manage the special drive against women drunken drivers without adequate women in the teams. Also, other offences by young women and teenage girls are on the rise. We have requested the law and order police to send women constables to join the traffic police as we feel an increasing need for a full-fledged women’s team.”