PANAJI
As many as 611 motorists felt the pinch of revised and steep traffic penalties, with police and and road transport authorities collecting fines to the tune of Rs 4.1 lakh on Friday on the first day of the implementation of the new Motor Vehicles Act.
According to sources, the Rs 4.1 lakh collected in fines were from various traffic violations across the State.
The revised fines, which are up to 10 times higher than the earlier fines, under the MV Act had been passed by Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in September 2019, but the State government decided to implement it from Friday.
Officers from the Road Transport Authority and Goa Police were stationed at various routes along the highways, major district roads and other routes, to intercept and penalise motorists for different traffic violations.
Some of the traffic violations included vehicles with tinted glasses, driving without helmets, violating no-entry, improper number plate, unauthorised parking alongside another parked vehicle, smoke emissions, absence of a rearview mirror, protruding of load, lane cutting and improper headlights.
Director of Transport Rajan Satardekar had warned motorists on Thursday that those who violate the rules would be made to pay the revised fines, but many motorists did not pay heed to the warning and found themselves paying up to ten times the earlier fine for the traffic violation.
The revised and steep traffic fines came in for strong criticism from the Congress party.
“The government should not make the public pay ten times higher in fines until the roads are fully repaired,” said Opposition Leader Michael Lobo.
Meanwhile, the Goa Road Safety Forum President Dilip Naik said the intention of the State government should be ascertained in the enforcement of the steep traffic fines.
“I welcome the new Motor Vehicle Act, but we also have to understand the intention of the government for implementing the new rules. The number of accidents will not go down with the new rules, but the government will increase its revenue by way of collecting fines,” said Naik.
“If the rules are implemented just to collect fines, it is of no use to improve road and traffic discipline in the State. The government should issue driving licences only to those who are fully aware of the traffic rules.”
“It is also necessary to maintain proper roads and also make arrangements for ambulances to reach the site quickly in cases of road mishaps. But none of this happens,” Naik added.
The State government had plans to introduce the revised MV Act in September 2019 itself, but there were strong objections, with many demanding repair of bad roads before implementing the steep fines.
Faced with still opposition, the State government delayed in the implementation of the revised fines.
