Traffic fines jump by Rs 1.2cr in Ponda under new MV Act

Ponda: The revised fines under the new Motor Vehicles (MV) Act have not slowed down traffic violations in Ponda. The traffic cell in the temple town has earned Rs 1.9 crore from 44,925 traffic violations during 2022, a rise of Rs 1.2 crore from the previous year.
In 2021, it had earned Rs 71 lakh from 56,988 motorists.
In 2020, the cell had collected Rs 65 lakh from 54,625 violators, states the data maintained by the Ponda traffic police cell.
Despite the hike in fines, dangerous roadside parking has failed to subside across Ponda. The number of such offenders in 2022 remains similar to that of 2021. A total of 7,193 motorists were fined for parking at risky places between January 1 and December 31, 2022, as against 7,278 cases in 2021. Ponda traffic police cell has netted Rs 23.6 lakh from the defaulting motorists.
Ponda traffic PI Krishna Sinari attributed the reason behind more amount to hike in traffic violation fines.
On a positive note, there has been an increase in people wearing seat belts. In 2022, 3,551 motorists were found driving vehicles without a seat belt as against 8,578 in 2021.
In 2022, police had traced 3,609 vehicles with no proper registration number plates and 1,008 vehicles had no number plates. In 2021, 4,120 motorists were spotted with either improper number plates and 1,290 vehicles were found driving without number plates.
A total of 158 motorists were found riding in rash and negligent manner as against 509 in 2021. The number of motorists using mobile phones while driving was less in 2021 at 107 violations as against 218 in 2022.