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Chandigarh saw 72% dip in driving licence suspensions this year
The Chandigarh Police, who are equipped with the latest gadgets to detect traffic rule violations, suspended the licences of 1,118 persons against 4,057 suspensions in 2021 and 4,623 in 2020
It appears that motorists across the city have wised-up and are staying out of trouble as there was a 72% drop in driving licence suspensions in 2022.
The Chandigarh Police, who are equipped with the latest gadgets to detect traffic rule violations, suspended the licences of 1,118 persons against 4,057 suspensions in 2021 and 4,623 in 2020.
At 670, the maximum driving licences were suspended for riding without a helmet, and 15 for dangerous driving.
Section 19 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, recommends suspending driving licences for up to six months for offences such as use of a mobile phone while driving, speeding, driving under the influence and jumping the red light. The licence of those found riding without helmet is suspended for three months. Besides, they also have to pay a fine.
As per data from the Chandigarh Registering and Licensing Authority (RLA), this year 275 driving licences were suspended for speeding, 28 for red light jump, 62 for using a mobile phone while driving, and 21 for drunk driving.
A senior officer of the UT administration said, “The latest technology has made people wary of breaking the law. Also, most violators challaned were from outside the city.”
In 2021, 4,057 licences were suspended, of which 2,510 were suspended for riding without a helmet, 873 for speeding and 342 for the use of mobile phones while driving. Interestingly, more rule-breakers were taken to task during the first year of the pandemic.
In 2020, 4,623 driving licences were suspended for different violations, of which 2,170 were suspended for speeding, 2,006 for riding without a helmet, 115 licences for using a mobile phone while driving and 234 for jumping the red-light.”
There are around 225 intelligent transport management system (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.
In February 2021, the Chandigarh Traffic Police announced that it would suspend the driving licences of those caught speeding for the second time. Earlier, the licences were suspended after the first offence.
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 a 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.
