150 drivers at halfway mark of losing licence

August 11, 2017 12:45 am | Updated 12:48 am IST - HYDERABAD

At least 150 citizens are in danger of getting their driving licenses suspended pretty soon having got docked five penalty points or more in the new system introduced by the Road Transport Authority (RTA) from August 1.

Just 10 days into the penalty system for traffic violations, the city traffic police have booked about 20,000 cases in the twin cities. About 3,000 people have clocked two to three points each, while about 15,000 drivers got one point added to their driving record, senior officials estimate.

Improving awareness

If the number of penalty points hit the 12-point, the driving licenses would be suspended, while another 12 points in later months/years would mean cancellation. “We have already spoken at random to the 150 people who got five points and more and alerted them of the consequences,” they said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police-Traffic, A.V. Ranganath said the process of improving awareness and motivating drivers to be more disciplined and responsible on the road was a continuous one.

He also denies modifications being made to the original amending provisions of the penalty system.

“We had a meeting with the transport department to discuss the finer points of the system where it was decided that drivers and not owners of vehicles would accrue penalty points once stopped by Traffic police teams for violations and their driving licence particulars and phone numbers taken,” he explained.

This effectively puts paid to fears in people that owners of vehicles would get points for faults of their drivers, said Joint Commissioner of Police-Traffic, V. Ravinder.

“Our focus is on driver safety-related violations, on regulation and improving awareness and not strictly on enforcement,” he said.

Penalty points were slapped based on ‘contact enforcement’, for violations including not wearing a helmet, driving on the wrong side, not wearing seat belt, talking on the phone while driving and driving under the influence of alcohol.

“Vehicle owners cannot attract penalty points when they are seated beside the driver or in the back seat of four-wheelers or riding pillion on a two-wheeler,” the officer clarified and observed that teething problems were bound to arise as the system is being introduced for the first time in the country.

Parking violations

As for parking violations, the traffic police appears to have taken a practically sympathetic view. “There are penalty points for parking in ‘No Parking’ zones. It is not a problem because we understand that there is not enough parking space. But yes, only in the case of obstructive parking, we impose penalty points”, said another officer!

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