Since the implementation of Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019 from September 1 this year, the number of vehicle users reaching the office of district traffic department to pay their challan has reduced considerably. However, the intensity of arguments they make has increased. The number of challans has dropped because even without intensive enforcement of the amended MV Act, a large number of vehicle users have themselves started observing the rules considering the increased amount of penalties on traffic offences.
According to traffic personnel at the challan counter in Dehradun, most of the e-challans now are of over-speeding. Most of the manual challans are for not wearing helmet or triple-riding with the violaters mostly being youngsters. The problem is now when people come here to pay challan they first try to get away with it by pleading and then they start yelling. The intensity of the arguments they put forward has increased, but most of them after paying hefty amount once, don’t repeat their traffic offences again.
Superintendent of Police (traffic) Prakash Chandra Arya said, “Since the implementation of new compounding fees from September 26, surely the number of people coming to pay challan on daily basis has reduced. This is most probably due to the amended provisions and increased amount of penalties.”
A citizen at the office who had come to pay challan with his son said, “My son has recently gotten his driving licence. Even though we tell him a number of times to put on helmet at all times while riding, he never listens.
He will put on helmet for showing us and then just as he gets out of the locality, he takes it off. The City Patrol Unit (CPU) personnel issued challan to him near Rispana few days back. The challan we are paying here came out of his pocket money. We are hopeful that this will teach him a lesson.”
Another citizen raised question, “What if a person is willing to pay challan at traffic office, but could not do so because of some emergency? Now, they have already sent challans for the month of September to court and there they will charge heavy penalty. What am I supposed to do? I cannot afford such heavy penalty.”
