THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As many as 91 pillion riders not wearing helmets were fined as Motor Vehicles Department started strict enforcement of the new rules from Monday. All riders found not wearing helmets were fined `500 each in the state-wide inspections.As many as 455 riders and 91 pillion riders were found not wearing helmets, and 77 passengers were fined for failing to wear seat belts in cars. The MVD collected a total fine of `2,50,500 from the vehicle inspections.
“We will continue the drive and it will focus on not wearing seat belts in the coming days,” said Rajeev Puthalath, joint transport commissioner. Monday’s inspections were concentrated in urban areas. Officers of MVD have been given an instruction to carry out inspections in rural areas from Tuesday. The MVD started enforcement of the new Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act from Sunday, but the officers limited the drive to giving friendly reminder to erring motorists.
First-time offenders will have to pay a fine of `500. The fine will go up to `1,000 if the same person repeats the offence and the officers can recommend licence cancellation if the person is caught flouting the rule for the third time. The MVD has deployed 85 squads for the crackdown across the state.
“We didn’t issue any challans to the pillion riders of two-wheelers on the first two days of the drive. We made them aware of the importance of wearing helmets. But from Tuesday, we will slap the fine of `500 on the pillion riders also,” said G Ananathakrishnan, Ernakulam Enforcement RTO.
He also said a total of Rs 18,500 was collected from motorists on Monday for not fastening seat belts and helmets while driving. “We have recorded the video footage of the motorists who were not wearing helmets while riding. We will issue a notice to the vehicle owners based on the video footage. A mass
campaign will be organised across the district from Tuesday,” he said.