Some 'inside' info. Even license is not enough at certain checks, apart from the usual, license, insurance, emission checks, the new one, cross checking the name on the license with the name on the Reg.Certificate.

watch out,

If you ride a pulsar/ apache .. they are looking out for these two... ( seems they are the most sought out in the stolen market)

If you work in an IT or BPO company, kindly remove the dog tag once you leave the office premises. ("IT pasanga, kaasu iruku Pudi")

If you get 'caught' for some 'offence' talk to them. They love to be reminded they are the knighted kind. Talk like you talk to a friend, it would cost you five mins, but then you are usually off. ( pulling up names, I am so and so, I know so and so does not work every time, that can crop up later if one faces a really greedy copa).

But, it is mandatory one carries (copies) his license, reg certificate, insurance, emission certificate. If your bike has been reg, with a non chennai RTO, update the address in the book.


Ofcourse they know the bad eggs, they just want a few easy targets.

Or simply you can bring the copies of your licence and other documents with you. come on.. dude your bike is worth 1.5lacs in money and much more personally.. what if you had "stolen" it !

I dont agree with the highlighted part. I've been caught many times with my friends bike and they will just let me go. Only once a cop asked me to call up my friend to confirm.

police ARE actually friendly people, they are doing their job, dont you curse your boss when he gives too much work and you have to work late night? or be irate with a client if the call happens late night?! SAME HERE !

Show your documents and you will be fine.

I've keep getting checked all the time !! almost everytime i go out late night. I dont find it a hassle cause if i lost my bike i would want the police to check every bike on the road in the city (and i did lose my bike so i know the feeling). Once i have been checked 5 times in one night due to some security issue. I asked the police guy to write me a receipt and he did and he also apologized for the inconvenience caused. But I thanked him for keeping the city safe !

and talking works personally i've never bribed a police officer. caught thrice twice for speeding (on OMR doing 60 lol) and once for riding on the wrong side (lost my phone!!!) I just explained to them, waited and they let me go. in the end the officer who "catches" you also has the power to leave you with a warning, remember that.

Well, thats what I am trying to learn here. Why its always us who are expected to follow what seems obvious. why adjust to system, when it should be other way round.

I will give you an entirely OT example which might let you all give an idea of what I am trying to ask. In India, see how one books a train tickets. if you want to travel next day (in urgency or leisure), either get tickets in tatkal by slogging over internet in the morning or stand in line of the ticket counter.

Now, if the system (and people involved) had to respond to that, the usual answer would be: it's your problem if you have made a travel plan the very next day on Indian railways. If you dont want to stand in line for 10-12 hours or fight your way online to get tickets, better dont travel. this is the way other million people book tickets everyday and you should do the same without cribbing. That how the systemis and thats how its gonna be for you and every one else.

Now, we know the current reservation system is clearly ineffective to cater and deliver what it should to travelers. Its a shame to see people lining up for 10-12 hours to buy train tickets just to travel back home to meet loved ones. Now, I know we are billion plus and congestion is the biggest problem in the country but why it should stop us from innovating and come up with better solution for tomorrow or atleast have a vision for it. until such thing happens, who is suffering all this time? its you and me.

I say, technology is there for us to make our life a little easier. It's about finding solutions by making right use of it. Now, hypothetically, wouldn't it be nice if the cops would get to know about your driving history just by knowing your car/bike number, or may be by just asking your name. Imagine, offenders could then be prosecuted/warned and the honest road user would be on his way to work/home after a routine traffic stop.

I guess it boils down to this then for us. As always.

That wasn't with CBR, that was atleast a decade ago with my Rx; learnt my lesson the hard way

That probably is TN cops; pls ask people in KA, AP & MH as how bad TN cops can be. They're probably friendly only with TN people & not outsiders EVEN if they speak Tamil (sometimes with KL too). KA is little different, if you speak in Kannada, they relax.

Recently, say in last 2 months of time, one of my good friend was fined Rs 700 just because his number plates were dirty after driving from Delhi to Srinagar Ladakh region...beat that!!!

On a lighter note, yes, Police are friendly people...when you feed them with paper Lolz

That said, my own experience with TN Police has been very good so far.

Your example of train tickets is rather ridiculous. If you book a ticket online, you are not slogging at all. You are sitting at home, chilling, booking a ticket, getting a confirmation sms on your phone. And you are good to travel. There is no effort at all. How much simpler and easier do you want to make it!!!!

Even if you do go to a station to book, it will take you 30-45 minutes. And not 10-12 hours. Don't know where did you get this piece of information!

Actually I had a different experience completely. I found the cops in Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Kerala and Karnataka extremely friendly and nice. Not one bit of harassment. And no I do not know a single word of any of the languages. Just got by with English.

Ok, so it's quite evident that it's all in the individual perception; one joker who toured TN was verbally abusing every Police & the system here!!!

Sometimes, I tend to think, it's all about how we behave in front of them.

For instance, I was once stopped by a team of Police about 3-4 months ago & that was on the bypass. First thing what I do when Police ask to stop is, I switch turn lights, look the left mirror & pull over to left extreme as much as possible, get down, have a relaxed walk towards them.

First they asked if I was racing & explain the gears; I then told it was only for safety & protection; then they went on asking where I was coming from & where I intent to go; believe me I only said, home & office; then why I was riding through bypass & not through the city; I said, this is relatively free from traffic & would like to enjoy my ride. After this they didn't bother to check my license (though they were checking for others) & asked me to leave.

My point is that, there're most cops who want to extort money, there're some genuine ones too; but if they determined to milk us, they will get it done at any cost & ofcourse every individual's experience does collaborate

I see things are getting changed here in Chennai. When I got my R15 4yrs back, just by the unseen looks of the bike every cop at each junction will stop me for a check. Today, I have maintained the bike just like new and has the shine due to the waxing and other stuff I do. Upon seeing shiny new look cops dont even mind stopping me. Recently I was stopped and while I reached out for papers one Cop said "Its a new bike all papers will be fine, just get rid of him" (In Tamil)

Monk, I am talking about urgent travelling next day. If you try booking Tatkal tickets, that's what happen usually. and I have personally seen and experience standing in line for 3-4 hours for a next day journey ticket. the ones at the very front of the line were there on the ticket counter a night before.

I just booked my tickets from Del-Lko-Del for 27th Sept yesterday (nothing was available before that) sitting at home, chilling and got a confirmation sms on my phone as well. this wont be possible so easily, if i want to travel say.. tomorrow.

Anyways, I don't think the discussion is going anywhere so I would leave things here.

Yes, there're lots of changes here in Chennai compared to...why 4? I'd say in last 10 years, tremendous change. There were times when out of state two-wheelers were asked to pay kappam at each signal. But those things are long gone & I see several out of state vehicles even during off peak hours & they're not fined.

Agreed, things are getting way relaxed these days, but the discussion is not only Chennai. It's about not having the docos in place & but it's about...

IMHO, law clearly states to fine a person driving without proper docos.

Here's what TN law states per GMO MS NO 30 dates 11-Jan-2000 under MV Act

UP21 (allowing unauthorized person to drive) - Rs 50
WL22 (Driving vehicle in contravention of section 3 or 4 without DL) - Rs 500

And...needless to say under what all sections they can impose upon

Let me share my good experiences of a couple of days. On Saturday morning I reached the station at 6 for a 7o'clock train to delhi. Booked my ticket by 6:02 and had to wait for an hour on the platform for the train.

On sunday afternoon I reached new delhi railway station at 1350 for a 1410 train, booked my ticket by 1358 hrs and was in the train by 1405.

Today I have booked a tatkal ticket without a hitch sitting at home. Nice and easy.

I personally find it very hard to complain about train travelling in India. Traveled a lot by train and enjoyed every moment of it.

The govt has given the citizens a very small responsibility of carrying their papers and DL. Not a big ask. I really do not understand why you find it something worth ranting about!

technology cannot work with multiple variables. when humans can get confused, technology will just grind to a halt. For example, my friend's name is spelt differently in each of his documents lol technology will say no match found and he will have to be fined, a police officer will know its a clerical error and let him go.

most developed countries started with tiny population, they first developed the infrastructure and then the population moved in. India is the opposite. New york now has 8mil people, mumbai on the day of independence had about 5mil people.

Technology needs ALOT of money. how do you think infosys, wipro etc etc are such big companies?! for a simple application that totals a tax sheet they charge 1000s of dollars ! technology isnt the answer, its an aid, the people and the system are the answer.

As for reading number plate, most addresses on RC is outdated since the process is too labourious and isnt automated yet (think its automated in major cities) also the IND number plates are suppose to be a change in this direction, but in a country where number plates come in as many shapes and sizes as the people, its hard to implement. and if the police catch you for that, you will again call it a inconvenience and harassment.

As for your train ticket issue. you must have booked from a major railway station, you do realise there are many booking centres in a city right? the over night stayers are usually migrant workers who need to catch the next train to their new work location.

Any website which gets 4lac hits in a 1min (and the hits continue for 2hrs) is bound to slow down. I travel often and always by train and always by tatkal. never had any issues. No offence but it just seems like you are being a bit impatient. For someone standing in line for 3hrs, sitting at home and hitting refresh everytime "service unavailable" shows up is a BOON.

comparing foreign system is pointless cause the growth story is totally different. Its like if a king became a pauper he will still eat with a spoon, while if a beggar becomes a king he wont mind eating with his hand.

hahaha.. still the Rx would have been worth something then

I had experience with both AP and KA police. after the initial checking of papers, they just chat and let you go !! The reason i get caught is cause of riding gear, nothing else !

I once got lost in mysore at midnight, a police jeep came and started questioning me, dont know kannada but spoke a little hindi and lot of english and explained to them my problem, after checking papers and understanding my plight they led to my friends place (who was happily snoring away even after my 100th phone call.) if i had taken offence to them checking me or questioning me i would have been in a bucket load of trouble and also i had all my papers together. (see why i explain myself below)

In AP, i dint have my pollution certificate, he told me its mandatory and that i needed to have it and let me go. As usual he asked me if am racing or not, but when i told him its for safety and not racing he understood and told me he wished people atleast wore a helmet for safety.

Will soon experience KE police, lets see how it goes.

I wouldnt agree with the highlighted part. I live in a area where there are alot of north indian student but dont know which state. Most ride motorcycles without helmet, they ride their friends motorcycles, the motorcycles are registered in other states, they dont have proper papers. I asked the police guy why they are "harassing them" (yes i used the word harassed) and they explained to me. They let go if papers are fine, but none of them have proper papers and they have some excuse or the other. incase a bike is stolen, the area and the area police station get a bad name was his justification.

how they settle the issue is a different issue, obviously these students need their bikes to go to college so they pay some amount to get off easy.

Also i dont like these students attitude. They DONT understand these are routine checks where even me (who lives in the same neighbourhood) gets stopped everyday. they also dont try to speak in english, i once heard a guy swearing in hindi, which the cop had no idea of. they think the check is personally against them. their demeanor is not of someone who has broken the law.. its like "you know who im" type.. its just annoying, if i were the police, i would impound their vehicle. they show too much attitude. i dint expect the mysore police guy to understand tamil nor should a north indian expect a tamil police guy to understand hindi. its common sense.

i once told a north indian guy who looked my age to stop smoking (in a bus stand) since its against the law, he immediately started swearing at me and said this wont happen in delhi and chennai is bullshit and stormed off. am sure he is working somewhere here, i hope he got fired !! lol People should understand the local law and behave accordingly. they should adjust to the environment, the environment wont adjust to you.

hahaha.. but routine checks have increased a lot in chennai. from mount road to koyembedu, i get stopped atleast thrice.

OMG cant believe such a chennai existed ! since i've been riding, i've not had any issues.