Chennai traffic police gear up to crack whip
Police to strictly enforce the Motor Vehicles Act with regard to the wearing of helmets
Chennai: With the compulsory helmet rule set to be enforced in the city from Wednesday, city traffic cops are still at sea as to how to go about enforcement. With hardly about 250 authorized personnel (traffic RIs and RSIs) to book erring motorists and the volume of two wheelers added to the city increasing by thousands each year, police have a tough task at hand.
When asked if they have taken any additional steps to enhance the enforcement drive, additional commissioner (traffic), P. Thamaraikannan was non-committal. “We will act according to the high court directions. No special teams have been formed for enforcement,” he said. Zonal deputy commissioners, when contacted, also refused to comment on the measures taken by police.
Meanwhile, an official communiqué from the office of city police commissioner S. George noted that Chennai police would be strictly enforcing the provisions of the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act 1988 with regard to the wearing of helmets. “If any person driving a two-wheeler or the pillion rider is found not wearing a helmet, they will be charged under the relevant provisions of the MV Act and as per HC directions, the original valid driving license and original vehicle documents will be impounded and forwarded to the jurisdictional court for further process,” it noted. Photocopies of documents will not be accepted, police said. In absence of the documents in original, the two-wheeler will be detained and kept at the jurisdiction police station.
“The violators shall produce a new ISI certified helmet with purchase receipt before the jurisdiction court and retrieve their original documents as per the procedure enlisted in the Motor Vehicles Act,” the release added.All electronic message boards in the city at important traffic signals in the city have been relaying helmet awareness messages for the past two weeks, a senior police officer said. adding that it is only in the interest of protecting the public from death and serious injuries caused due to non-wearing of helmets, that this earnest action is being undertaken.