6 months imprisonment for driving rashly: Police Department

Mumbai Police is tracking motorists who regularly rash drive on the streets of Mumbai. The police will monitor the motorists who drive and ride rashly on the roads, especially the ones who go the wrong side of the road and put everyone’s life in danger. The cops will review the CCTV footage to track down these motorists.

The new drive started on January 4 and several motorists have been tracked down till now. The Mumbai Police said that they have taken action against 121 two-wheelers, 11 three-wheelers and 23 four-wheelers till now and motorists will get notices in the coming weeks. The police team is sending the notice to the home of the motorists.

Also read: This Harley Davidson Forty-Eight is actually a 125cc Yamaha Enticer

Under the crackdown, the cops have already booked 155 motorists so far for various reasons. It includes racing, rash and wrong side driving. The police have also lodged FIRs that could invite a prison sentence including paying a fine. The traffic police will now study the CCTV footage of the past month to look for more offenders, who might have slipped earlier.

In the FIRs against the 155 offenders including those who used the wrong side, are booked under section 279 of IPC. The section deals with rash driving besides other charges to each case. Earlier, the cops only used the Motor Vehicle Act that allows only fining the offender without any prison time.

Most offenders are bikers

The cops say that almost 78% of the offenders were on motorcycles. The Mumbai Police will also team up with local police station teams. The teams will be formed to interrogate the offenders who are booked for racing to look into the possibility of organised group races. Also, the teams will look for stolen or modified vehicles and will check if there are betting against the racing participants.

The traffic police are also taking action against the 4,200 driving license holders who failed to pay the pending fine amount despite regular reminders. The police have now sent the details to the Regional Transport Officers (RTO) who will issue a show-cause notice and give a hearing to the motorists. This will allow the motorists to have one chance to save the driving licenses since the RTOs will suspend the license after that.

The Mumbai Police say that driving on the wrong side increases the chances of fatal crashes. This is why they want to send a message to the motorists through this drive. The action will be taken against the vehicle owners who have a clear registration plate on the vehicles since the whole drive depends on the CCTV footage.

The cops have started using video evidence to send challans to the homes of the offenders. Last week, an Instagram influencer borrowed a friend’s bike to do a stunt on the BKC-Chunabhatti connector. The two-wheelers are banned here. The police have invoked Section 279 of IPC that may invite a fine of Rs 1,000 or 6 months jail or both.

There are also plans to link insurance to the challans in the future. The authorities are currently testing a model for the same and the new law can be implemented in the coming months.

Also read: Custom Interceptor 650 Cruiser arrives before Royal Enfield builds one