Bengaluru: “If you don’t fix it, we will fix it for you,” is the mantra adopted by the city traffic police to curb the menace of defective registration number plates, shrill horns and modified silencers.
The police, who started a special drive against such violations by private and commercial vehicles from October 16, are expected to continue it for a long time. Government and emergency vehicles have been exempted from the drive.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) R. Hithendra said, “We had received a number of complaints against vehicles bearing fancy registration plates, some of which have the names of various organisations and associations. It was also observed that there was a rise in the use of modified silencers and shrill horns which contributed to noise pollution. We found that the menace was rampant and decided to curb the offence.”
All traffic police inspectors have been told to conduct the drive and book offenders. “It was also learnt that penalising was not sufficient as motorists would continue committing the same offence. The policemen have been asked to dismantle the horns and silencers on the spot along with a Rs 100 fine. With the number plates, we penalise the offenders and warn them to change it. If they are caught the second time, we will recommend cancellation of their licences,” said another senior police officer. “There are over one crore vehicles plying in the city, of which more than 60 per cent have defective registration number plates. Majority of defective number plates are fancy, while some also have the names of various organisations,” the officer said. All motorists should follow rules listed under Article 50 and 51 of the Central Motor Vehicles Act, 1989 on displaying the number plate. The rules explain the dimension of the number plate and size of the alphabets along with the colour coding.
Curbing crime
The registration plates of vehicles play a crucial role in cracking criminal cases, especially in chain-snatching and eve-teasing cases, as offenders normally use bikes to commit such crimes. Clear number plates help the public note down the registration numbers of vehicles involved in crimes. It also comes in aid of the police in investigating cases as they can have a clear view of the numbers while going through CCTV footage.
