Despite crackdown on underage driving, no let-up in traffic violations

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 23

Even as the Punjab Police had given parents a 20-day window to ensure that their minor wards stop driving and their parents don’t face challan under the harsher sections of the amended Motor Vehicle Act, it does not seem to have worked much.

Even as the traffic police adopted a lax attitude, 18 youths were challaned for either being underage or not possessing driving licences (even if they were not minors). However, none of the youth was challaned as per the new provisions in the Act.

“We shall give the parents one week more to impose fine under Section 199 A and B of the amended Motor Vehicle Act. Even going by the old norms, they shall have to pay up at least Rs 5,000 as the challan amount”, said ADCP, Traffic, Amandeep Kaur.

Traffic police personnel did not start on-the-spot challan and choose to send the cases to the Regional Transport Officer on whose discretion the challan amount would be finalised. “We also challaned five overloaded autorickshaws and a bus of Cambridge School for MVA violations”, said a traffic police inspector.

A constable posted at Guru Nanak Mission Chowk said, “After issuing challans, we have been telling the parents of all offenders on the phone about the violations that their wards have been indulging in and warning them of harsher penalties for another similar violation, including cancellation of the RCs of their vehicle, Rs 25,000 fine and bar on issuance of licence till the age of 25.”

The ADCP said, “As many as 300 personnel from the police and PCR teams shall remained deployed at 7 am and again at the time when schools are over to check violations tomorrow. They shall be deputed at strategic locations, including BMC Chowk, Workshop Chowk, Chunmun Chowk and other sites just in the vicinity of the schools. We are simultaneously running 60 challan books, especially for violations of underage driving.”

The violations by students were common outside almost all schools as they did not only indulge in underage driving or driving without licences but were also not wearing helmets. Some bikers were also seen indulging in triple riding outside a school on Ladowali Road.

Meanwhile, the rush of applicants for getting learner’s licences has increased with the Transport Department.