E-Paper
Chandigarh sees 50% dip in driving licence suspensions
Dip in cases being attributed to the integrated traffic management system, under cameras installed at 47 junctions which take note of violations and generate challans on the registration number of the violators
City Beautiful appears to have got its traffic in order, if the number of licence suspensions over the past three years is taken as an indication. Sample this: the driving licence suspensions reduced by half (50%) this year from 689 in 2023 to 352 in 2024. In 2022, the figure was even higher at 1,139.
The dip coincides with the launch and implementation of the Intelligent Transport Management System (ITMS) in March 2022.
Senior superintendent of police (SSP, traffic) Sumer Pratap Singh said, “The latest technology has made people wary of breaking the law. Also, most violators challaned were from outside the city.”
There are 225 (ITMS) cameras installed at 47 junctions under Chandigarh Smart City Limited. These cameras take note of traffic violations, and a challan is generated on the registration number of the traffic violator.
Riding a two-wheeler without a helmet and drunken driving were two violations that led to most driving licence suspensions in the city this year. This year, 225 licences were suspended for not wearing helmets, followed by 78 suspensions for drunken driving. There were 25 driving-licence suspensions for speeding, nine for use of mobile phone while driving, six for dangerous driving, five for triple riding and two for jumping the red light.
Section 19 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, read with Rule 21 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, recommends the suspension of driving licences for up to six months for violations such as the use of mobile phones while driving, speeding, drunk driving and jumping the red light. For riding without a helmet, the licence is suspended for three months, and a fine is imposed.
The traffic police had started suspending licences for speeding in 2016 on the directions of the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety. The committee had issued directions to suspend the driving licence on the first offence. However, as per the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, the licence is to be suspended after the second violation.
