Maharashtra Proposes To Make Some Traffic Offences Non-Bailable

The Maharashtra motor vehicles department (MMVD) has proposed to make some of traffic offences, such as reckless driving and speeding, non-bailable, a senior official said on Tuesday.

State Transport Commissioner Vivek Bhimanwar said they have proposed to make certain offences that lead to serious injuries or fatalities non-bailable under the Motor Vehicles Act and have submitted a proposal to the Centre about the same.

Currently, all offences are bailable under the Motor Vehicle Act, he said.

“Basically, what we proposed is that some offences such as rash driving, which lead to fatalities or serious injuries, overspeeding and reckless driving be made non-bailable,” Bhimanwar said.

The senior official was speaking at the launch of a speed observation study report titled "Slow Down" prepared by NGO United Way Mumbai.

Bhimanwar further said that the department has taken various measures to reduce road fatalities such as strengthening the licensing system, use of reflecting devices, installing speed limiting devices to vehicles, carrying out automatic vehicle fitness tests and effective electronic as well as physical enforcement.

Since enforcement drives were started on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and other highways, fatalities had come down by 36 per cent in the last three months on the expressway compared to the corresponding period last year, he said.

Speaking at the event, United Way Mumbai's vice-president (community impact) Ajay Govale said the study was launched with the support of Mumbai police, Road Safety Advocacy Club and IIT Bombay and it was conducted at 20 black spot locations in the city.

The traffic police have accepted most of the observations submitted in the report and also sent them to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and MMRDA for corrective steps, joint commissioner of police Praveen Padwal said.

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