overseas

How can the Mumbai Traffic Police structure fines to improve safety and hire more constables?

One approach would be to outsource the backend to the lowest bidder based on a % of the fine collected so that no upfront investment is required by the Police.

Minumum fines based on the wheels could be set for any infraction:
e.g., Rs. 100/wheel =
Rs. 200 for 2 wheelers
Rs 300 for autos / 3 wheelers
Rs 400 for cars
Rs. 600 - 800 for trucks / buses etc.

Drunk driving should be set Rs. 1,000/wheel or 1% of the on-road price of the vehicle whichever is higher so while a Rs. 5 Lakh car pay Rs. 5 k, a 15 Lakh car would pay 15 k etc.

This would require wireless handheld devices [maybe smart s] and printers to issue challans on the spot while looking up that vehicle's prior infractions / history also.

The extra funds would be used to hire more cops to reduce the massive overtime of the current force.

Traffic wardens would be provided by the winning bidder to assist each cop with the lookup and issuance of the challans and help with flagging down multiple offenders / cars.

Here are typical reasons why western solutions don't work in India for drunk driving:

1. 'loss of license' - people simply get a new license issued from another state since there is no centralised database [or even state level] to track offenders.
2. 'jail time' - people are out on bail for around US$250 - 500 depending if anyone was injured or killed despite owning cars that cost $25 - 50 k in many cases.
3. 'fines' - that's the only thing that will work provided they are high enough to be a deterrent rather than a slap on the wrist as is the case currently.
4. Widespread corruption - its much easier to bribe the cop for Rs. 100-200 and get away with most violations since they are underpaid and overworked.
5. Understaffed - there is an acute shortage of traffic cops due to budget constraints since the presence of uniformed constables itself acts as a deterrent.