KOCHI: Posting the picture of your altered vehicle on social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter and other handles may land you in trouble. The Enforcement wing of the Motor Vehicle Department will no longer be silent on the violations that are taking place in front of them as the department has extended the ‘Freekan’ drive to social media websites. The department’s decision to extend the drive came after several motorists posted pictures of their altered vehicles on Facebook.
“Altering a vehicle is a crime according to the MVD and promoting the same violation on social media will attract several people to follow the same pattern. We came across several such cases on Facebook and asked them to turn up at the office with all the details and the vehicle in the old format,” said Enforcement RTO K Manojkumar.
As per the information the department has initiated action against 10 such vehicles. “We were shocked to hear the amount of money they have invested for altering the vehicle. An LMV worth around Rs 8 lakh has been upgraded using all the imported accessories and that accessories cost over Rs 20 lakh in the market. We have noticed several such violations on the road as well as on FB.
So, we traced them using the number and sent a notice to the RC owner, “ said MVI Deepu. According to him they have also given a name for such vehicles. If an altered vehicle is again reinstated to its old format they call it with a pet name - ‘stock’ vehicle.
“Many of them still believe that alteration is not a crime. Our drive is to make them understand altering a vehicle is a crime. By replacing the silencer of the vehicle they are causing environmental pollution as well. The drive will continue in the coming days as well, “ said the RTO. During a twelve-hour-long drive which started on last Friday evening at Panampilly Nagar, the MVD caught 65 altered vehicles. The department’s move came after they received several complaints from the public.
“With the alteration made on the tyres and other parts, it affects the stability and gravity centre of the vehicle. The manufacturers have set a turning radius for all the vehicles but with the illegal alteration, it will change the whole mantra. This will also end in accidents,” Deepu added.
Action against 10 vehicles
The department’s decision to extend the drive came after several motorists posted pictures of their altered vehicles on Facebook. As per the information the department has initiated action against 10 such vehicles