Snap! Snap!

Planning to see if you can jump that signal?

Or straddle the traffic line with feigned innocence, so you can take off like a bat out of hell when lights change?

Think again.

“They have asked me to sit here and take pictures of traffic violations till they buy enough CCTV cameras!”

The authorities have been busy as bees, setting up cameras at all vantage points, just so that they can spot Tempters-of-Fate like you.

And you know what? It’s silly to think that you’ll be able to reach over and cunningly hide your number plate with a convenient briefcase, dupatta, shopping bag, or any other thingummy you can lay your hands on at that moment.

Being “spotted’ or “noticed” at unexpected places is no longer a celebrity prerogative.

Given the citizenry’s rather happy-go-lucky approach to traffic, there’s probably never a dull moment in control rooms. Every other second, the cry goes out: “Hey! Violation at points A, M, X, Y – great shots, guys ... we got those snaps good!”

High fives all around and some amount of beaming.

The latest status symbol?

The number of times the CCTV has captured you.

If you haven’t ‘appeared’ even once, what a dull old stick you must be.

Apparently, even your vehicle is a little embarrassed by your painfully law abiding attitude, and lies to its colleagues to save face.

Peer pressure never quite goes away, does it?