The Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) is supposed to instil good driving culture among motorists in the city.
But that calls for a state-of-the-art fully automated driving test track, which continues to remain a distant dream for the Ernakulam Regional Transport Office.
Conducting driving test using a stop-gap arrangement has become a challenging task for MVD officials, especially during the monsoon.
Though the MVD was allotted about two acres at Thuthiyoor for setting up an automated track, it proved useless as the site turned out to be soggy and prone to water-logging. An approach road to the site was almost non-existent.
The proposal received a new lease of life when another plot of 1.25 acres was identified at Irumpanam. They were waiting for the government to issue necessary orders making it available to us, a senior MVD official said.
Safety drive
MVD’s enforcement drive in connection with the transportation of students seems to have borne fruit in the opening month of the new academic year.
Though the focus of the drive was initially on the experience of school bus drivers and the fitness and proper identification of educational institution vehicles, overloading has emerged as the primary offence.
Ernakulam Regional Transport Officer (Enforcement) N.K. Raveendranath said out of the more than 100 cases charged, about 90 per cent cases were for stuffing children into vehicles beyond the permissible limits.
“We have forwarded the cases to RTOs concerned for action. The offenders will be charged with Rs. 5,000 in the case of heavy vehicles, Rs. 4,000 for medium type vehicles and Rs. 3,000 for light motor vehicles,” said Mr. Raveendranath.
MVD is set to keep the enforcement drive apace throughout the academic year in keeping with the directions of the Transport Minister.
