Chennai: To stop people from parking motorcycles in no-parking zones, Tambaram city traffic police have started chaining vehicles violating the rule.
Usually, police clamp car wheels and tow away such bikes but there have been repeated instances of motorists ignoring fines for illegal parking.
Last week, police imposed fines on nearly 450 bikes parked in unauthorised zones in Chromepet, Pallavaram, and Pallikaranai, falling under the Tambaram commissionerate. And, to ensure that the fines are not ignored or delayed, officers chained the bikes, forcing owners to contact police for their release. They chain all the bikes together and leave a note with a policeman's number. For the first offence the fine is 500, and for subsequent offences it is 1,000.
The move has proven to be a more effective deterrent than fines alone, according to police officials. Because, despite being towed away, many bikes end up in the same place, especially outside theatres, textile showrooms, and hotels.
"And many motorists fail to pay fines or simply ignore the penalties. By chaining the bikes, we have ensured that owners have no choice but to settle the fines before they can retrieve their vehicles," said Sundarajan, assistant commissioner, traffic, Pallikaranai. "This action is necessary for better traffic management, as many of them block the carriageway," he said.