They have also criticised the road safety drive being undertaken across the State, claiming that two-wheeler riders were being “harassed” for not wearing helmets, while speeding trucks and haphazard parking were being ignored.
Addressing the press on Monday, Ponda Shiv Sena chief Gansham Naik demanded that the government return the fines collected from two-wheeler riders for not wearing helmets on interior roads. He added that two-wheeler riders in the towns are unnecessarily being harassed, while other vehicles were ignored.
Sena member Ravindra Talaulikar said that the government should first find out how many fatal accidents occurred in the towns to justify the fine for not wearing helmets. He said that transport officials had fined thousand of two-wheeler riders, while there was no action against four-wheelers with tinted windows, speeding trucks, overcrowded buses with passengers and conductors hanging onto the door, vehicles parked on the roadsides in the towns and trucks parked on the highways, blocking the visibility of motorists.
Meanwhile, Ponda locals have also stated that there was no need for helmets in towns as vehicles were slow due to the crowd, and that people visited towns on their two-wheelers as there was no space to park cars.
Vishwanath Pandit, a local, said that he had been residing in Ponda for several years, but he was recently fined for the first time. He said, “As vehicles are parked on either side of the road, there remains little space to drive, and there are no chances of accidents. We have to go to the bazaar, bank, and do other routine work in the town. Making us wear helmets is harassment.”
Another local, Viraj Sapre, said there was no need to tell motorists to wear helmets on the highways as it was common sense given the number of speeding trucks and tankers. He said, “There should be speed control. The authorities should also fine school and college students who ride without a licence and cause several accidents. Since there are terrorist threats, the police should also check cars with tinted windows.”
This will create safety for all of us.”
