The RTO has suspended 1,974 driving licences of car and two-wheeler owners for offences ranging from speeding to drunken driving and signal-jumping in Mumbai between January and August 2016.
The action, the biggest in recent years, was taken after the Maharashtra government introduced a rule of three-month suspension of licence from January 2016.
This proved to be a major deterrent to car-owners and bikers as suspension figures in most cases dropped subsequently , officials said. Six offences under which you can lose the right to drive for 90 days are speed violations, drunk driving, jumping signals, talking on mobile while driving, private vehicles used for illegal transport and overloading.If caught riding without a helmet, the licence is suspended for a few days till you attend a counselling session on safe driving and road safety tips at the local RTO. The suspension is revoked only after you attend the session and assure officials you will not repeat the offence. Such licences are suspended for two days to two weeks, sources said.
Officials said the statistics showed that signal-jumping cases were the highest, especially in south Mumbai. “A special squad comprising RTO officials along with traffic police nabbed offenders. A significant number of cabbies and two-wheeler riders would often jump signals. We suspended their licences on the spot. This reduced cases of signaljumping in the island city. The police received calls from influential persons but they stood their ground and followed the new rule strictly.
Overloading was another major offence tackled by the RTO team. They suspended 555 licences and most were private tourist buses ferrying passengers from south and central Mumbai to districts in the state and to places like Karnataka and Gujarat.
Though not a single licence was suspended for "speeding" till May 2016, the RTO cracked the whip on 18 offenders in June, 16 in July , and followed by eight in August, bringing the total to 42. In case of private vehicles used for illegal transport, no licence was suspended.
Most licences suspended for drunk driving were in March, which was 35 of the 39 this year. Action was taken against 14 for talking on cellphones while driving. It is dangerous and can lead to driving errors and mishaps.
Driving without a helmet cases dipped from 33 in January to five in March, and four licences were suspended in June; only one was suspended in August.
A transport ministry official said, "We are serious about implementing rules and whatever the offenders' backgrounds, they will not be spared." A third drive is planned by the year-end.
(Source: Times of India, Mumbai dated 2016-09-07)
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