Bull bars being fitting on an SUV in Sector 28, Chandigarh. Express Archives
A TOTAL of 300 people have been challaned in Chandigarh for installing bull bars or crash guards on their four-wheelers since January 1 this year. Traffic police have also recovered Rs 1,000 fine each from the 300. “A majority of the challaned vehicles belong to the SUV category. A few heavy load vehicles, including Tata 407, mini trucks, were also among the challaned vehicles. Crash guards on the rear are accepted but installing bull bars on the front side is an offence,” said traffic police sources.
DIG (UT) Dr O P Mishra said, “During the challan drive against crash guards, we observed that people were not aware of the fact that installation of crash guards is a traffic offence. On this observation, we have included this offence in our awareness drives, conducted at educational institution, government offices, markets and other public places. There is a need to educate people about this offence.”
Sources said the challaned vehicles included those registered in Chandigarh as well as ones belonging to neighbouring states, including Punjab and Haryana. Jagmohan Singh, a dealer of car accessories at Motor Market in Sector 28, said, “Since the ban on crash guards was implemented, people have stopped purchasing them. We had a market for people especially from Punjab. But now, people only prefer to install these guards on the vehicles’ rear.”
Apart from the Sector 28 motor market, motor markets in Burail, Sector 45 and Sector 38 also had a huge market of crash guards.
In December 2017, the Union Ministry of Transport and Highways instructed all the states and Union Territories to take strict action against those fixing bull bars on their vehicles. The fine is Rs 1,000 for the first time and if a man is caught the second time, the penalty goes up to Rs 2,000. According to instructions issued by the Ministry of Transport and Highways, the use of bull bars must be curbed because the possibility of casualties is always high in cases of collision between vehicles that have bull bars. The ministry added that crash guards always pose a serious threat to pedestrians.