The department also detained the two-wheelers for a temporary period, till the riders produced the helmets, Director Transport Arun Desai informed on Monday.
From October 2, Government has begun enforcing helmets for two-wheeler riders and pillions on highways. While police are going soft on pillion riders, riders are being booked for violations. A fine of Rs 100 is imposed for not wearing helmet.
Desai said that in just four days nearly 300 challans were issued to riders for not wearing helmets. Since it was noticed that violators have no hesitation in paying off the fines, which are minimal, we decided to detain their vehicles until they produce helmets and wear them, the transport director said.
“We made sure that riders don’t ride their vehicles without helmets even after paying the fine,” he said.
The department has decided to enrol all its staffers to strengthen the drive, which is being executed in coordination with the traffic police. Desai said that currently only the enforcement wing of the department is entrusted with the duty of acting against violators. But to make the enforcement more severe, we will enrol more staff including RTOs and those involved in registration of vehicles.
Road accident deaths involving two-wheelers have gone up from 57 percent in 2010 to 66 percent in 2014, till April. As per statistics, by end of April 2014, total 1,150 cases of road mishaps have occurred, resulting in deaths of 79 people including 59 two-wheeler riders.
