Driving licence suspension list to be linked with e-challans in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: The State government has directed RTOs and police to strengthen enforcement and emphasise on suspension of driving licence (DL) of offending drivers for violation of traffic rules and regulations. At a State road safety council meeting chaired by Transport Minister Tukuni Sahu recently, it was decided to link the list of suspended DLs with e-challans issued by RTOs and traffic police or share the data with the police, so that, repeated offenders can be checked and stringent action taken against them.

Although 5,21,449 traffic violations were detected by the police from January to June, only 23,294 DLs were forwarded to RTOs for suspension which is only 4.46 per cent of the cases detected. Additional DGP (Crime Branch) has been entrusted with the task of ensuring that the driving licence of all the offenders is suspended as per provisions. 

Similarly, only 24,692 DLs of offending drivers have been suspended during the six-month period through RTOs issued 1,29,794 e-challans for various road safety violations in the State. As directed by the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety, the Transport department is suspending the DL of offending drivers for a period of three months as per the provisions of the MV Act. 

“But many drivers are driving their vehicles during the suspension period as they might be ignorant of the consequences. This is the reason we have decided to link the list of suspended DLs with e-challans so that police can conduct check during drives and take action,” said Principal Secretary of the Transport department Bishnupada Sethi.

The road-owning authorities have been asked to complete the identification of black spots at the earliest. The CGM of NHAI, the Chief Engineer of NH and the Chief Engineer of Roads have been directed to take steps for notifying the list of black spots.

After the success of the Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) - DEESHA on a stretch of 140 km from Rameswar to Panikoili, the Finance department has allocated Rs 175 crore for the expansion of the scheme to other stretches. 

It has been decided to allocate funds for the implementation of ITMS in all vulnerable stretches and near black spots. As capturing data in the Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD) portal needs improvement the Transport Commissioner has been asked to review and ensure the successful running of iRAD in the State.