Police to get bigger cranes to tow away SUVs

The traffic police will soon have 40 cranes that can tow away even “bigger cars” parked illegally in the Capital, reports HT Correspondent.

If you thought you could park your sports utility vehicle (SUV) or luxury car anywhere and get away with it, beware!

HT Image

The traffic police will soon have 40 cranes that can tow away even “bigger cars” parked illegally in the Capital.

HT had in September 2008 highlighted that the traffic police could not tow away illegally parked luxury cars and SUVs as they didn’t have bigger cranes. Last Friday, the police finally floated a tender to hire 150 cranes, including 40 bigger ones, which can tow away vehicles up to 2.3 tonnes.

“These cranes would be able to lift bigger vehicles without causing any damage,” Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) S.N. Shrivastava said.

The remaining 110 cranes would be used to tow two-wheelers and smaller cars, a traffic police officer said.

These big cranes would be at the disposal of the traffic police in the next three months, Shrivastava said. The traffic police currently have 53 cranes at its disposal.

To further streamline the system, the traffic police would also photograph spots from where the vehicles are be picked up.

Shrivastava said this would help in reducing the number of disputes that the traffic police have with vehicle owners. These photos would be used as a proof that the vehicle was towed from a ‘no parking zone’.

“The traffic inspector towing away an illegally parked vehicle will now inform the control room about its registration, make and the spot from where it was towed. The vehicle owner can check if his vehicle has been towed away and the police station it has been taken to by calling up the traffic helpline number (011-23010101),” Shrivastava said.