Wrong side driving adds to the chaos as seen in this file photo taken on Chirag Ali Lane road in Hyderabad.
In a bid to rein in wrong-side driving, a major contributor to both traffic chaos and road accidents, Hyderabad will soon have Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras across key hotspots in the city.
Following the model implemented by the Cyberabad traffic police, which installed ANPR cameras at 124 locations prone to frequent wrong lane driving last year, Hyderabad traffic officials are now identifying similar hotspots.
“We are mapping areas with recurring violations to install ANPR cameras that will automatically detect violations and generate challans,” Hyderabad Joint Commissioner (Traffic) D. Joel Davis confirmed.
According to the official, wrong-side driving remains one of the most pressing challenges on Hyderabad’s roads today, contributing significantly to both traffic congestion and road safety risks.
“It doesn’t just endanger the violator — it puts innocent commuters at risk and narrows the available carriageway, often leading to congestion and, in some cases, complete gridlocks,” he explained.
As traffic bottlenecks and accident rates continue to rise, the traffic police have ramped up enforcement efforts across the city. In just the first quarter of 2025, the tri-commissionerates recorded and penalised a staggering 4.33 lakh wrong-side driving cases.
Cyberabad led the charts with over 2.17 lakh cases, driven largely by violations in the high-density IT corridor. Hyderabad followed with over 1.62 lakh cases, while Rachakonda reported 53,824 violations.
Adding to the concern, Hyderabad police data reveals that between January 1 and April 9, 2025, wrong-side driving led to 37 accidents, claiming one life and injuring 41 people.
To tackle the issue at its root, officials are also analysing the reasons behind such violations including the road infrastructure and commuter tendencies. “We are studying the placement of u-turns across the city. Often, if u-turns are too far or inconvenient, people resort to driving on the wrong side. Wherever needed, we’ll modify, remove, or add u-turns to improve safety and ease of travel,” Mr. Davis added.
Meanwhile, traffic heads of the tri-commissionerates said that regular drives are being conducted to identify violators, and these enforcement efforts will continue in the coming weeks.
Published – April 11, 2025 07:20 pm is
