Colourful cards could be a solution to some of the traffic problems on the roads of Patna.

A source in the traffic department told The Telegraph: “There are more than five lakh vehicles on the roads of the state capital. The traffic department is understaffed. It is difficult to man all the roads and check whether all motorists are carrying necessary documents or not. We are planning on a new system of issuing cards to vehicle owners after checking the documents.”

Explaining the process, the officer said: “Suppose a vehicle is stopped in the Sachivalaya area for a check. If the vehicle owner has all the required documents, like driving licence, vehicle registration, pollution certificate and others, he would be issued a card of a particular colour. He will have to carry the card around when he is driving. If he is stopped again, he can just show the card and the police will know that his car has been checked.”

He added: “This will ensure that there is no duplication of work for the cops and the vehicle owners are not stopped repeatedly for checks. If the cards are pasted on the windscreen of the cars, they would not be stopped by police.”

The officer also said: “Of course, the cards would be issued only after strict checks. The cost of the cards can be recovered from the vehicle owners or the police headquarters can allocate some funds for it. These cards could be provided with a special hologram that cannot be copied. There should also be deterrents to prevent people from making copies of the cards.”

Motorists welcomed the idea and said it would be helpful for them.

Kankerbagh resident Anil Kumar said: “I hope this plan is approved and is implemented soon. If introduced, it would solve a lot of problems.”

Asked how he expected the traffic cards to be of help, Anil said: “Sometimes, I have been stopped four or more times a day for checks. Though no fine is charged twice, checking of all the documents of a car takes a lot of time. If the cards are introduced, I would be able to just show it and move on without wasting any time.”

Motorists apart, the cards would be of a lot of help to the traffic police personnel on duty.

“At present, the number of traffic police personnel deputed to check cars is around 500. The number of cars on the city roads is more than five lakh. Most of the constables deputed to check cars are homeguards. They are often at the end of their wits checking the documents of many cars at once. If the cards are introduced, they would just have to check the cards and let the cars go,” said another traffic police officer.

The plan could, however, take sometime to go on the road, if at all.

“It could take sometime before things take shape,” said a police officer.

He added: “We are giving the plan a good thought and working out the intricate details. It will be forwarded to the senior officers for approval.”