The traffic police have begun issuing warrants obtained from courts against drunk drivers who failed to pay a fine amount ₹10,000.
Invoking the amended provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, the police have been booking cases against motorists for drunk driving to reduce accident rates. After revision of spot fine rates by the Transport Department, personnel have been issuing challans to the violators and also booking motorists for drunk driving. A fine of ₹10,000 is being collected for drunk driving.
“So far, the courts have issued 70 such warrants, and we are serving them to those who have violated the rules and not paid the fines”Kapilkumar C. SaratkarAdditional Commissioner of Police, Traffic
Recently, the police adopted a new procedure to make violators pay fines and to avoid drunk driving. Additional Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Kapilkumar C. Saratkar told The Hindu, “Once we catch and book a motorist for drunk driving, we don’t hand the vehicle back to him/her. If they agree to avail the services another person to drive, we let the vehicle go but register a case. The violator will receive an SMS in 48 hours for drunk driving with a link to pay the fine. Earlier, we used our staff and officers in call centres to call violators to pay the fine. We adopted the new practice recently.”
“Now, we go to courts and obtain warrants. We tell the courts about the failure of payment of fines by violators, and the courts issue a proper warrant saying that the person should pay the fine in 14 days, or the police will have the right to seize any movable property. So far, the courts have issued 70 such warrants, and we are serving them to those who have violated the rules and not paid the fines,” Mr. Saratkar said.
