Team Herald
PANJIM/MARGAO: On Day 1 of implementation of the amended Motor Vehicles Act, 640 traffic violators were caught breaking the rules. The State government imposed the amended Motor Vehicle Act from Friday.
On Friday, the Traffic Department booked around 640 violators until 7pm, fetching the department approximately Rs 3.70 lakh.
In Margao, Traffic Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Dharmesh Angle urged riders and motorists to follow the law and see that their vehicles follow the legal parameters and said if such measures are taken, there should be no fear of the perceived high fines.
Addressing media persons, Angle downplayed suggestions that the fines are high and said that there was a need to increase the fines in order to set a deterrent.
He said keeping these fines in mind, commuters will be extra careful not to violate the traffic rules and also see that the documents of their vehicles are in place including the pollution certificate.
He added that he had heard that some sections of society were of the opinion that a fine of Rs 10,000 for driving without a licence is too high but he said any driver who is travelling without a licence is a danger to the public and should not be driving in the first place.
He reiterated that the fines have been put keeping in mind public safety. He added that all the electronic machines that the traffic police use to give the fines to the errant driver/rider have been updated on April 1, 2022 and that they had started imposing fines as per the revised fine structure from Friday.
On Thusday, Transport Director Rajan Satardekar had told the media that the Road Transport Authority and police were fully geared up to impose the new regulations, which will see a steep spike in traffic fines related to over-speeding, driving without a valid licence, etc.
The implementation of the MVA Act, which was passed in Parliament in 2019, was delayed amid opposition from civil society as well as politicians, both from ruling and opposition camps, on account of the steep nature of fines.
After several postponements, the then State government finally announced implementing the amended Act after the poll results from April 1, 2022.
Satardekar said that the Goa government was duty-bound to implement the new rules, because of strictures from a Supreme Court-appointed committee that is monitoring the implementation of the amended act.
Goa was among other states which decided to enforce the law by lowering the fine amount for certain offences on due permission from the apex court.
