11K motorists fined for parking in no-parking zones this year

Two- wheelers parking in no-parking zones has become common and slapping fines against violators has not been a deterrent so far.

Statistics f rom t he Navi Mumbai traffic police shows 11,500 motorists have been fined for violating parking norms this year. A fine of Rs11.7 lakh has been recovered from the offenders.

In 2015, the city traffic police fined 70,756 people and recovered fine to the tune of Rs72.59 lakh.

Lack of parking space in most parts of the city see motorists parking vehicles in ‘no parking’ zones.

Although the traffic police officials have been conducting drives against those parking their vehicles on footpaths and no-parking zones, officials said there has been no reduction in such violations.

“It is ironic that motorists do not adhere to basic traffic rules. They not only park their vehicles in no-parking zone but even on footpaths. We do not need to tell that footpaths are meant for walking and not for parking vehicles. We will continue to conduct such drives and penalise offenders,” said Arvind Salve, DCP traffic, Navi Mumbai.

Ro a d Safety Expert Ashutosh Atray stressed that signboards are meaningless unless there is cooperation from the public.

“Be it cars or bikes, the maximum fine for violators is a mere Rs100 which is not an hefty amount. So, motorists who pay the fine also are found to park their vehicles at the same spot again. Parking space crunch is a major issue. There needs to be amendments in the Motor Vehicles Rules to initiate stringent action or impose heavier fines on offenders who park vehicles in the places where they are not supposed to do so,” said Atray.