Mumbai: Nearly 1,300 motorists have been penalised by the state transport department in the last 13 days for various offences including speeding, lane cutting, wrong side parking and not wearing seat belts on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Of these, 34% of cases are related to lane cutting and 28% for not wearing a seat belt. A total of 21% of cases were related to speeding and 17% to wrong side parking. E-chalans have been issued to all these offenders.
Similarly, 361 persons were penalised on the old Mumbai-Pune Highway during the period. Of these, 45% of cases pertained to not wearing a seat belt, while 26% were related to speeding and 16% lane cutting. Meanwhile, 13% of cases were related to wrong side parking.
A 24-hour special safety drive was started by the state transport department on Dec 1 on both the routes connecting Mumbai and Pune to reduce accidents. Last year, a total of 200 accidents were reported on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, claiming 88 lives and leaving 146 seriously injured. From January to October this year, 168 accidents were reported, in which 68 people died and 92 were seriously injured. Similarly, 149 people lost their lives and 144 were injured in 278 accidents reported last year on the old highway. Till October this year, 231 accidents killed 102 people and seriously injured 160.
For the implementation of this special initiative, 30 transport officials from different zones of Mumbai, Panvel, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Pune are working round-the-clock to educate motorists about discipline behind the wheel.
Asked about wrong side parking, a senior transport department official said, “Parking vehicles on the expressway or old highway without any valid reason like a breakdown /puncture makes the spot accident-prone. Apart from that, parking vehicles with one set of one tyres on the road and the other off is also not permissible without a valid reason (breakdown /puncture).”
According to the official, vehicles parked especially at junctions / turns also create an inconvenience for other road users. “Vehicles parked during the night without reflective cones round pose a great danger, especially at night,” he added.
Section 149 (b) (1) of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, states the operator of a motor vehicle without a seat belt or a vehicle with passengers not wearing seat belts shall be punishable and fined up to Rs1000.
(To receive our E-paper on WhatsApp daily, please click here. To receive it on Telegram, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
