The Motor Vehicle Department (MVD) has intensified its drive to make Ernakulam air horn-free.
The joint operation by the MVD and police by forming combined squads continue day and night, cracking down on motorists found driving vehicles fitted with unauthorised air horns.
So far, cases have been registered against 208 vehicles while 120 air horns removed from vehicles and fines totalling ₹2.48 lakh have been imposed. Two vehicles were also seized in the drive led by Ernakulam Regional Transport Officer Regi P. Varghese.
Deputy Transport Commissioner M.P. Ajithkumar said that more drives would be conducted across the district in the days to come.
Soon after assuming charge in November, Mr. Ajithkumar had identified the crackdown on air horns as his immediate priority through a twin strategy – a stricter fine regime and constant enforcement through active public participation.
A phone-in complaint system was also introduced as part of the project encouraging people to lodge complaints about the use of air horns by vehicles, complete with their registration number.
Constant monitoring
The project will be expanded to cover Idukki and Kottayam districts as well, based on its success in Ernakulam. The idea was to convey the message to errant drivers that they were constantly being monitored by the public even when enforcement officials were not in sight.
The MVD hopes that the system would serve as an effective deterrent, thus to bringing down the rate of rash and negligent driving by half as air horns were found to be one of the reasons for creating a bad driving culture.
