New vehicle ownership rule eases tracing errant motorists

The new rules introduced by the Government to track down motor vehicles with open papers has eased the tracing of vehicle owners involved in accidents, the Traffic police said.

DIG, Traffic, Palitha Fernando said the introduction of the new rule will enable the Motor Traffic Dept (MTD) to nab motorists involved in hit-and-run and drunk driving cases, with ease.

DIG Fernando said that, earlier, when a traffic offence was committed, they had difficulty tracing the offender, because the papers had not been transferred to the present owner’s name.

"Investigations into the number plates show that, the papers have changed hands two or sometimes three times, without being transferred to the present owner’s name," he said.

Meanwhile, the MDT said that, with the introduction of the new rule, there had been a scurry to change the ownership of vehicles.

MTD Commissioner General, Jagth Chandrasiri said the Dept was swamped with vehicle owners wanting to beat the transfer deadline. The rule imposed in September 2016, gave a grace period of three months to all owners to transfer their vehicles in their own names. Failing which, they had to pay Rs 100 for every day they possess the vehicle without the transfer.

He said the ploy of not transferring ownership was to avoid paying tax and also to indicate minimum number of ownership of a vehicle, as “the value of a vehicle is assessed by the number of its previous owners”.

It is learnt that motorcycles and three-wheelers topped the list. Some of the vehicles have not been transferred for years and when calculated, the fines ran into lakhs of rupees, surpassing the value of the vehicle. “There were 20 motorcy- cles that ran up to Rs.200,000 in fines,” Chandrasiri said.

However, the workload has eased with the extension of the grace period to December 31, 2016. The MDT said it is best that owners use this opportunity to transfer the vehicles in their names to avoid the last minute rush.

Meanwhile, the National Transport Medical Institute (NTMI) responsible for medical tests for all driving licence applicants, was swamped in the the last two weeks, with people clamouring to get their licences.

It is learnt that the Budget proposal to impose a Rs 25,000-fine for driving without a licence, has prompted many to apply for their licences.

Chairman, Rohana Pushpakumara said that, on a normal day, the office receives about 400 applicants for medical tests, but now, they get over a thousand people seeking medical tests. ”We have only three doctors and are unable to cope with the demand. We are doing our best,” he said.

He said that NTMI branches in all 25 districts are crowded with people lining up before dawn. “Sometimes as early as 4 am,” he said.

The online facilities at the Hambantota and Werahera branches have also got congested with requests for licence renewal of heavy and light duty vehicles.

“We are giving priority to renewals, as the new applicants will anyhow have to wait for at least three months, before they get their licences,” he said.

Mr Pushpakumara said there is a misconception that, if they secure their licences before the implementation of the Budget proposals, the age limit can be circumvented. The Government has imposed a 25-year minimum age limit for three-wheeler drivers. If the proposals are passed, many three-wheeler drivers will lose their livelihood.