If you live in Maharashtra, think twice before answering your mobile phone while driving as now you will end up losing your license for at least three months.
The Maharashtra traffic department has asked regional transport offices to suspend licenses for a minimum of three months for six types of violations mentioned in the traffic guiding rules (GR) which include speeding, drink driving, jumping signals, talking on the phone while driving, ferrying passengers in a commercial vehicle and overloading a commercial vehicle.
At present, this ‘zero tolerance’ campaign has been implemented on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway. Soon it will be initiated on other highways as well.
“The GR wasn’t being implemented. Mere penalties won’t deter offenders. Suspending his license for three months will force him to stay off the road and serve as a lesson,” SP (highways) Vijay Patil told to TOI.
Last year, around 35,800 road crashes were reported in Maharashtra, resulting in over 12,200 fatalities. A committee appointed by the Supreme Court under a retired judge has been given the responsibility to make efforts for reducing road crashes and fatalities by 10%, reported TOI.
On November 12, a review meeting was held by the committee. The principal secretary (Maharashtra) also attended the meeting and showed his disappointment towards the police forwarding a negligible number of driving licenses of offenders to the RTO for suspension. The meeting circular says, “Every traffic police branch is instructed to forward maximum licenses for suspension where offenders have committed the six types of violations specified. An action report has to be compiled by the state traffic department and subsequently sent to the SC-appointed committee.”
