KOLKATA: Police have decided to flip through the records of habitual speedsters to identify those who are potentially a risk to road safety. Cops are determined to keep speed demons on a tight leash to avoid the kind of accident that left a woman in a stationary car dead when a car rammed into it from behind.
After multiple rounds of meetings triggered by the high-speed accident on EM Bypass, the Kolkata traffic police brass said it will prepare a list of all cars in the city that have multiple cases of speeding and dangerous driving against them even if the owners have paid traffic fines.
These car drivers will be summoned by local police stations and warned of stricter legal action, including temporary suspension of licences for a year. The cops will also let the owners know that the car will be under scanner and future violations will be acted upon immediately.
The decision follows a primary probe by the fatal squad of traffic police found that the Mercedes Benz that was involved in the accident in the wee hours of Thursday at the EM Bypass-Beliaghata Main Road crossing had multiple cases of speeding against it but the owner/s had paid the fines.
Cops said the focus should not be only on vehicles that do not pay their fines but also on stopping reckless driving on the road.
Till March this year, the time till which cops have released data, private cars were involved in 36 accidents, injuring 45 people. Two-wheelers were involved in 32 cases, injuring 33 people. In contrast, private buses injured 14 in as many accidents and state buses were involved in three. Trucks were involved in 21 accidents.
Cops said that temporary licence suspension helps in bringing down these car and two-wheeler accidents. These temporary suspensions of licenses had started from February this year after the new enhanced Motor Vehicles Act provisions had kicked off in the state. Lalbazar stated that ACPs will take the final decision on temporary suspensions after a round of hearing where the motorists will be given an option to defend themselves.
