Chennai traffic police have proposed cancelling driving licences and seizing vehicles from repeat traffic offenders, as the department faces difficulty recovering fines and preventing motorists from continuing to drive after violations. The proposal is under discussion with the Tamil Nadu government.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Megalina Iden outlined the proposal while speaking at the Tamil Nadu Road Safety Conference 2026, organised by the Citizen consumer and civic Action Group (CAG). She said pending fines were often collected only when vehicle owners approached Regional Transport Offices for fitness certificates, raising questions about the effectiveness of existing enforcement measures.
Between October 2025 and September 2026, Chennai traffic police booked 26,273 cases of drunk driving. At a penalty of Rs 10,000 per case, the fines totalled Rs 262.73 crore, but only Rs 120 crore had been collected, according to figures presented at the conference.
The enforcement gap also covers other serious violations. Police recorded 7,000 signal-violation cases and 6,700 cases involving mobile phone use while driving during the period. More than 2,84,123 cases of riding without helmets were also booked over the past year. Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) B Chamundeswari said only about half the fines across the categories cited had been paid.
Chamundeswari said the department continued to face difficulty enforcing helmet use despite awareness campaigns and penalties. “Technology has made detection of violations easier, but it has not resolved the problem of non-compliance,” the official noted.
Chennai’s Integrated Traffic Management System, developed under the Smart City project, includes adaptive signals, incident detection, red-light violation detection, speed and lane violation detection, and automatic number-plate recognition cameras. According to the department, about half of the system has been implemented, with the remaining work expected to be completed soon.
The enforcement concerns come against the backdrop of Tamil Nadu’s road-crash burden. CAG’s presentation cited 67,526 crashes and 18,449 fatalities in the state in 2024, accounting for 13.8% of crashes and 10.4% of road deaths in the national totals cited at the conference. Speeding was attributed to 70.7% of crashes and 70.3% of fatalities.
Two-wheeler users accounted for 46.2% of those affected, while pedestrians represented 20.6%. The presentation recorded 10,117 children below the age of 18 among those affected, while 83.3% belonged to the 18-to-60 age group. CAG also said 63.9% of crashes occurred in rural areas and 59% on highways, which accounted for 52% of fatalities despite representing 5% of the total road network.
The organisation called for a state road-safety action plan offering common guidance and resources while addressing district-specific concerns. The conference brought together government officials, police personnel, researchers and specialists to discuss implementation of the Tamil Nadu Road Safety Mission. The Chennai traffic police proposal will require consideration by the state government before any enforcement changes are introduced.
