COPS SUSPENDS 316 LICENCES THIS YEAR

Driving without helmet or planning to skip a signal thinking that you have to shell only a few hundred rupees and you will be spared? Beware, because now if you flout traffic rules, you will lose your driving licence for the next three months.

The deputy regional transport office at Vashi has been acting tough on such offenders and has already suspended around 316 licences for various offences under the Motor Vehicles Act from January 1 to April 13.

The action for suspending licences for 90 days was initiated following the orders from the state transport department to suspend licences for flouting traffic norms from January 1.

According to the records, of the 316, the maximum suspension of licences has been for overloading vehicles, which were 128. While talking on the mobile phone while driving saw 68 offenders, 42 motorist’s licenses were suspended for riding without helmet while 39 licenses were suspended for overseating. A total of nineteen licenses were revoked for signal jumping, 17 licenses were suspended for driving without seatbelt, two for over speeding and one license was suspended for ferrying passengers in goods vehicles. For all the offence registered, a total fine amount of Rs15. 79 lakh has been collected.

Once a motorist is caught for an offence that amounts to a threemonth suspension, the licence is seized by a traffic officer and given to the RTO officer for suspension. The officials from the traffic department said, according to rules, an RTO officer has to be present with the traffic police for the immediate suspension of licences. “The powers to suspend the licences rest with the RTO. The traffic police can only confiscate the licences and send them to the RTO for further action,” said Arvind Salve, DCP, traffic.