CHENNAI: While Chennaiites have been scrambling to purchase helmets throughout last week, the city police have been placing orders and getting acknowledgment receipts printed. The receipts are to enable the police to promptly seize the motorist documents and the bike, if the riders were found not wearing helmets from July 1.
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“The bundles of receipts are ready. If someone is found not wearing a helmet, their documents will be immediately seized and the officer will promptly handover the receipts to them. After that, they have to go to the court and pay the fine to retrieve them,” says a senior police officer.
The personnel in the Traffic Enforcement wing of the city police are also getting ready for the special drive, possibly an hectic day for them. “Though only the traffic police personnel will be engaged in the enforcement drive, we have formed special teams for each area and stretch,” says an officer.
The city police have also framed the procedure for the drive. If the motorist or the pillion rider is found not wearing a helmet, the original driving licence and vehicle registration certificate will be confiscated. An acknowledgment receipt will be issued to the person concerned. The seized documents will be forwarded to the jurisdictional court and the motorist has to pay the fine in the court. The challan has be produced in the traffic police station concerned to retrieve the documents.
And what if the bike riders are not carrying the original documents?
“We will not accept photocopies of the driving licences or the RC. If the originals are not there with them, then the vehicle will be seized and an acknowledgment receipt will be issued. They can retrieve the vehicle from the police station concerned after submitting the originals. Then, the original documents will be sent to the court,” says a senior police officer.
Apart from the challan for the fine paid, the violator must also produce the receipt and the helmet purchased by him to get back the original documents, as per the directions of the Madras High Court in an order on June 8.
While so far helmet rule violators have had to shell out `100 as spot fines, police officials believe that the new court order mandating seizure of the documents will act as a better deterrent.
“This time, the awareness has been high. So, we think, there will be less work for us, as people will comply with the rule,” says a traffic wing officer.