PANAJI
Taking serious cognizance of the horrific collision between a rental car and a motorcycle on Mandovi Bridge, the State government has directed the Transport Department to serve a notice to the accused driver, Ankit Triparty, and reached out to its counterparts in Odisha to revoke his driving licence.
Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho didn’t mince words, expressing frustration with rental car operators' failure to follow the guidelines, being one reason for reckless driving by the tourists.
“There’s a need to follow the SOP for rental cars. We have recently seen two accidents recently involving rental cars. There are more such incidents… In the present case, I have asked the Transport Department to issue a show cause notice to cancel the license of the driver, because there is negligence,” he said, replying to media questions after the cabinet meeting on Friday.
The minister emphasized that rent-a-cab operators educate their clients on responsible driving such as avoiding overspeeding and driving under the influence. “Haphazard parking should also be avoided because this irresponsibility also adds to the chaos. Cautious driving should be followed on narrow and village roads,” Godinho stated.
The State witnessed two rent-a-car accidents in less than a week. In the first, two cousins on a motorbike were crushed under a truck after the door of a stationary car was suddenly opened by its occupants. In the second incident, biker Javed Sadekar was thrown into the river when the cab driven by Odisha's Ankit on the wrong lane collided with the motorcycle head-on.
The minister yet again reiterated his proposal to integrate all tourist taxi and rental cab services into a single app to enable proper monitoring and data management. He slammed that despite the increase in fines under the new Motor Vehicles Act, violations continue, particularly among tourists in Goa.
