A dozen violations of the Telangana Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, including driving on the wrong side of the side, riding without a helmet or not wearing a seat belt will now attract penalty points that will be valid for a period of 24 months and ultimately that will lead to suspension of licence for one, two and three years.
The Department of Transport has with immediate effect, issued a Government Order with the necessary amendments to the Rules. For example, driving without a helmet or not wearing a seat belt will earn the errant driver one penalty point, over-speeding above the permitted speed will mean three points.
Drunken driving will mean five penalty points if it is a public vehicle, three points for a two-wheeler and four points for a four-wheeler, lorry and other goods carriers said the G.O. Coming to the crux, if a driver accumulates 12 penalty points for violations under Rule 45 (A) during a block period of 24 months, his/her licence will be suspended for a year.
If the driver again accumulates 12 points subsequent to the initial suspension of the licence and later getting it revoked, the suspension will be for two and further repetition will entail a suspension for three years. As for driving offences committed while holding a Learner’s Licence, five penalty points earned during the duration of its validity will mean its cancellation.
The G.O. provides for reduction of penalty points in case the driver goes through a defensive driving or motor vehicle accident preventive courses to be conducted by the Department and/or those conducted by a recognised training institution. Undergoing such a course will result in a reduction of three penalty points and the facility shall be restricted to two times in a period of two years, the G.O. said.
When contacted, Joint Commissioner Transport B. Venkateshwarlu said their officers were all set to implement the new amendments in their entirety. They would leverage the existing database they had about contact details of vehicle owners and work with the police on the field, he said.
A few months ago the department had issued a draft seeking suggestions and objections and once the period stipulated by the draft was over, the said G.O. was issued.
