#056: An Encounter With The Traffic Police

Around 2 pm, I was driving home on GST Road (Urapakkam) when, after a signal, my car just stopped and wouldn’t start again. With some help, I moved the car as much to the side of the road as possible, but it was still blocking the road, during peak traffic hours.

I called my usual mechanic to ask what to do, and he suggested checking the battery terminals and tightening the bolts if there was a loose connection. I didn’t have a spanner on me, so I turned around to buy one from a nearby store.

A junior traffic cop noticed us and asked us to move the car immediately. I explained the issue—that it wasn't starting and the steering was locked too. He told me to talk to the SI, and at this point, I was prepared for them to fine me or ask for a bribe.

I told the SI that I was going to buy a spanner or find a nearby mechanic, and that I'd leave my friend with the car in case they needed to move it.

I bought pliers, not sure what the spanner size was, opened up the bonnet, and started tightening the bolts. Meanwhile, the senior cop walked up to us, asked if this was the first time this issue had happened, and told us to calm down. He noticed that there were some deposits on the terminals and asked the junior cop to go get hot water from a tea shop. He then held the cables in place, asked me to check if the dashboard lights were on, then asked me to tighten it and pours hot water on the terminals.

Until the end, I was thinking maybe they were going to fine us or something for sure, but he was really nice about the whole situation.

Sure, we probably would have sorted things out without his help, but it was super nice of him to be helpful and calm us down, instead of making us panic about blocking traffic. And while I have paid fines for forgetting to wear helmets, it was nice to see that some cops actually do help when needed.

TLDR: Car broke down in peak traffic, and instead of fining me or demanding a bribe, a traffic police officer and his junior were practical about it and helped fix the issue. Chennai good.

(I originally wrote this as a post on r/Chennai- https://www.reddit.com/r/Chennai/comments/19c19de/traffic_police_appreciation_post/)