A fine of Rs.1.24 lakh for over-speeding? This is not an exaggeration. A prominent private inter-State bus operator had to pay the fine following the Motor Vehicles Department’s (MVD) automated enforcement system detected the over-speeding of the Bangalore-bound bus at many points on the Cherthala-Mannuthy stretch of the National Highway. The bus was caught in the camera-laden speed radars and a series of surveillance cameras installed at important points on the stretch.
Sources at the MVD said that at one point the bus was moving at a speed of 150 kilometre per hour taking advantage of the deserted roads during the night. Since the bus breached the speed limits at many points out of the 42 points where surveillance cameras and radars were installed, each breach was considered a separate offence attracting fines. And the final amount was Rs.1.24 lakh.
Since the notice generated under the automated system is accompanied by details such as camera shots, speed, and the place and time at which the bus hit that speed there was nothing much the operator could do about the fine. The MVD also had video footage of the offence. The operator paid the fine two weeks back, sources said. The MVD has also recommended suspension of the driver’s licence.
Ever since the automated system was commissioned between Cherthala and Mannuthy, MVD officials have slapped a total fine worth Rs. 2.20 crore. While 90 per cent of the offenders have paid the fine, about ten per cent have been ignoring the notice. The department is in the process of identifying the defaulters and initiating revenue recovery proceedings against them. They will be sent one more reminder after which there will be no more intimation before initiating revenue recovery proceedings, the sources said.
Surveillance hub
Kakkanad will be a central surveillance hub for the Kerala Motor Vehicle Department’s prestigious automated enforcement project. “The hub will be shifted to the new space by December. It will have ten machines and 30 officers will man the hub in three shifts ensuring its functioning round-the-clock. Now, the functioning of the existing control room is restricted to 12 hours,” said A. Noufal, Motor Vehicle Inspector coordinating the project.
A control room set up at the office of the Ernakulam Deputy Transport Commissioner at Kunnumpuram near Kakkanad has been functioning as a minor hub for the first phase of the project. It was implemented on the Cherthala-Mannuthy stretch of the National Highway.
The project is set to be expanded up to Manjeshwaram in the second phase. The new centralised hub at Kakkanad will come up on 1,400 sq.ft. on the ground floor of the civil station. It will be the central hub for the existing 42 cameras and the 90 more cameras to be installed in the second phase.
Meanwhile, Transport Commissioner Rishi Raj Singh who was here to attend an adalat has asked officials of Keltron, which is lending technical support to the project, to study the scope of expanding the surveillance project to National Highway 17 as well. In the first phase of the project, the surveillance cameras mainly detected over-speeding and signal violations. However, in the second phase, the upgraded software will facilitate detection of other types of offences like failure to wear seat belts and helmets, and outstanding tax dues etc.
“Since all the RTOs in the State will be networked, the officials at the central hub will be able to access the previous record of the vehicle and its owner. We can impose heavier fines and even recommend suspension of licence if the motorist proves to be a repeated offender,” Mr. Noufal said. At present, notices are being sent to the postal addresses of the offenders. The possibility of alerting the motorist about his offence through SMS and e-mail is also being considered.
Now, the offender has to pay the prescribed fine and send the receipt back to the MVD as a proof. But in the advanced system envisaged in the second phase, the offender simply needs to pay the fine at any RTO and it will be automatically uploaded to the data base.
Twenty out of the thirty complaints that came up before the adalat relating to Motor Vehicle Department offices and their services here on Wednesday were resolved.
