At least 1,481 driving licences have been suspended in Chandigarh for various traffic violations since last year. Among these, maximum driving licences were suspended due to non-wearing of helmets. According to the data provided by the Registering and Licensing Authority (RLA), while 1,052 driving licences have been suspended in 2022, as many as 429 have been suspended this year till October. Of the total suspended last year, a majority – 681 have been for not wearing helmets in 2022. A similar story was seen this year too with suspension of 267 licences. The second highest violation which saw maximum driving licences suspended were overspeeding – 242 in 2022 and 79 till date this year. As many as 59 licences last year were suspended for using mobile phone, while this year only seven have been suspended. This year till date, 50 driving licenses have been suspended for drunk driving, while these were only 20 last year. Also this year till date 14 driving licenses have been suspended for triple riding. How long does suspension last Section 19 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 along with with Rule 21 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, recommends suspending driving licences for up to six months for offences such as use of mobile phone while driving, speeding, drunk driving, and jumping red light. For riding without helmet, the driving licence was suspended for three months along with the payment of a fine. Cameras check violations now Around 225 Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) cameras under the Chandigarh Smart City Limited were installed at 47 junctions. These cameras take note of traffic violations and a challan is generated on the vehicle registration number of the traffic violator. The UT traffic police has taken over monitoring of the ITMS, while the upgradation of the violations like introducing more to the already existing ones will be taken care of by the Chandigarh Smart City. Many flunked driving tests too As many as 18,042 of the 26,723 applicants have flunked physical driving tests on sensor-equipped automated test tracks in Chandigarh in the first nine months of the year, according to the RLA. Only 8,881 applicants passed the driving test, as per the data. Reverse, gradient and hairpin parameters contributed the most for the failure in these tests. Most of the two-wheeler drivers failed to navigate the roundabout properly, a U-turn and hairpin bend during their driving tests. About 25 per cent of of car owners who failed the test are those who cannot reverse properly within the given track. Even if the bumper is out of the said position, a person is disqualified, according to the licensing authority.
