Know when Bengaluru got its first traffic policeman and more in this museum

Traffic, like the weather, has become a conversation starter in Bengaluru, a city notorious for its congestion. For a population of 1.4 crore, there are 1.2 crore vehicles in the city, the most traffic-dense in the country and ranked the third slowest city in the world.

With over 44,000 junctions, 432 of them are signalled, over 9,000 cameras watch over the city’s traffic, monitored at the high-tech Traffic Management Centre (TMC) and over 95% of the cases booked for violations are through contactless enforcement. The traffic police in their white shirts and khaki pants, the most ubiquitous persons on the city’s streets make up 30% of the city’s police force, highest for any Indian city.

Ever wondered when Bengaluru, once known to be a sleepy town and a pensioner’s paradise, got its first traffic policeman on the street? As early as the 1880s. And how has the Bengaluru Traffic Police evolved from there to the Artificial Intelligence powered traffic management and enforcement today?

The Bengaluru Traffic Police Museum and Experience Centre at the Traffic Management Centre, Infantry Road, Bengaluru.
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Over a century

Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) has now opened a museum and an experience centre at the TMC, Infantry Road, detailing the evolution of traffic management in the city, from the 1880s to today, showcasing several photographs, archival materials, police uniforms, enforcement devices, bikes used by the traffic police in the city over the past century.

Though Captain E.D. Gompertz, first SP, Bangalore town, managed traffic across the whole town in the end of the 19th century, it was in 1908, with the enactment of Mysore Police Act, that traffic duties were for the first time entrusted to the civil police. They were asked to regulate traffic on the streets, ensure the public observed the rules of the road, prevent obstruction or nuisance committed by road users and keep the roads safe. The police had to also ensure that the vehicles carried and used lights between “half an hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise.” In 1930, a separate traffic division was created within Bangalore Police.

A traffic constable hand-signalling standing atop a pedestal in Cubbon Park in 1963
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Special arrangement

A traffic constable at work using hand signals near Lido Theatre in 1969.
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Days of hand signals

Then the police wore khaki shorts, and the first traffic signals were manual, where a traffic policeman stood on a two-foot-high pedestal at a circle and managed traffic through hand signals; umbrellas were introduced only in 1970. The first traffic signal was put up at N.R. Square in 1964, a year after B.N. Garudachar became the first DCP (Traffic) in the newly formed Bangalore Police Commissionerate.

The first traffic signal in the country with a timer was adopted at Cauvery Theatre junction in 1999. In the 1950s itself, many roads like Royan Road, Avenue Road, Chickpet, Cottonpet and Commercial Street were designated one way.

Traffic umbrellas were installed at important junctions from 1970.
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Earlier, the traffic police were not authorised to collect fines on the spot when they caught violators. There used to be mobile courts in police vans stationed across the city, where one had to go and pay the fine to get their vehicles back. From there, we have now progressed to contactless enforcement through cameras that spot the violations and auto-generate challans.

The traffic museum has on display the various devices the police have historically used to book violators, from the large radars to check speeding, alcometers, challan-vending machines, including Blackberry phones to body-worn cameras being used now. A walk through the museum convinces one that BTP has always been an early adopter of technology and has stayed ahead of the curve.

The then Home Minister R.M. Patil inaugurating the city’s first traffic signal at N.R. Square in 1964.
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Traffic experience centre

Housed in the museum is one-of-its-kind the state-of-the-art Traffic Experience Centre which offers an interactive experience, showcasing the technological evolution of traffic policing and road safety in the city. You can even test your driving skills through simulated traffic scenarios for hands-on learning. A real-time digital model of Bengaluru traffic on a video wall is a wonder to interact with. There are also several interactive quizzes and games on road safety for the children and adults alike.

A traffic policeman stopping a motorist for pillion-riding on a 50cc two-wheeler in 1973.
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M.N. Anucheth, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), whose initiative the museum is, said that there was no record keeping of the history of BTP and they had to work with not only the State government but multiple newspapers including The Hindu to access their archives, source reports and photographs documenting the history of BTP.

In 1985, the government authorised traffic police officers to collect fines on the spot eliminating the need for violators to pay it in the court.
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“While celebrating the legacy of BTP, the initiative aims to use interactive displays and fun exhibits to help citizens understand the science and effort behind traffic management and inspire visitors, especially students, to appreciate and support traffic regulations and the people who enforce them,” he said.

The museum will be open for the public between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. on all working days.

The Bangalore City Police Commissionerate was established in 1963. A separate traffic division was also created.
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