New Delhi: While enforcement authorities in Chennai in the past week have intensified checks against illegal accessories, Kancheepuram police have gone one step ahead by making violators destroy illegal accessories fitted by them on their vehicles.
The Motor Vehicle Act bars vehicle owners from modifying automobiles, tampering electrical systems and replacing conventional headlamps with bright, white-coloured LED lights that can temporarily blind motorists travelling in the opposite direction.
As mandated by the law, traffic police are imposing a fine of 1,000 for these violations. GCTP have booked 170 cases against those who have installed dazzling headlights in their vehicles.
On Sunday, a team headed by regional transport officer (RTO) Dinakaran organised a surprise check in Kancheepuram against autorickshaws who had installed illegal headlights and fancy air-horns. The violators were asked to cough up the penalty and destroy the LED lights.
Besides this, cops booked cases against autorickshaws that carried excess passengers and drivers who did not wear uniforms and failed to furnish proper documents during checks.
Activists, however, said no ion has been taken against those manufacturing these illegal accessories and retailers who market and sell them. There are hundreds of shops in GP Road and Pudupet that sell these products, but not a single raid or inspection has been conducted there. K Kathirmathiyon, a transport activist in his letter to the Union Road Transport Ministry, asked, “Making things worse, automobile manufacturers themselves are fitting high-power lights. How can the government allow such lights without conducting any scientific study or assessment?”
