Bengaluru Traffic Police Seek Hike in No-Entry Fine from Rs 500 to Rs 3,000
Bengaluru traffic police have written to the Transport Department proposing a steep increase in fines for No Entry and wrong-side driving, seeking to raise the penalty from Rs 500 to Rs 3,000 for first-time offenders. The proposal follows a sharp escalation in violations, with cases recorded in the first seven months of 2026 already surpassing the total for the entire previous year.
According to data from the Bangalore Traffic Police, 3,02,962 No Entry violations were logged across the city throughout 2025. Between January and July 2026, the number surged to 3,45,364 cases, exceeding the 2025 total by 42,402 offences and approaching nearly four lakh violations in just seven months.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Karthik Reddy confirmed that the department approached the state government to seek more stringent punitive action. In August, the traffic police submitted a formal letter to the Transport Department requesting an increase in the fine for first-time offenders to Rs 3,000, along with a higher penalty structure for repeat offenders.
Traffic officials reported that wrong-side driving is most widespread around signalised junctions and congested bottlenecks. Motorists routinely bypass medians, signals, and queues by travelling against oncoming traffic instead of taking designated U-turns or junction openings. During peak hours, two-wheelers frequently slip through median gaps or travel the wrong way down service roads to reach nearby shops and residential streets.
Reddy attributed the widespread defiance of one-way rules to motorist impatience, attempts to save fuel, and convenience-seeking habits. He noted that wrong-side driving has developed into a herd behaviour, where multiple commuters copy the first rider who takes an illegal shortcut. He warned that this practice creates severe bottlenecks and drastically elevates the danger of head-on collisions.
Senior police officers noted that drivers moving in the designated direction often have no anticipation of oncoming vehicles, giving them little time to react or brake safely. Violations have escalated both on roads equipped with medians and on undivided stretches, where motorists frequently drift into the opposite carriageway.
Urban strategist and mobility crusader Vinod Jacob cautioned that one-way roads across Bengaluru are turning hazardous, pointing out rule violations by food delivery riders. He recommended that authorities implement physical engineering interventions, including bollards, pedestrian railings, and larger, prominent No Entry signboards at intersection entries and exits, citing similar measures used in Kerala.
