Chennai: The next time you lend your vehicle to a friend who then commits a traffic offence, you need not worry about paying the fine. You can explain to police that it was not your fault, as the law has been tweaked to allow cases to be booked against the violator and not the vehicle owner.
Since Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras were installed by the city traffic police, hundreds of vehicles have been booked for offences such as stop line violation, signal jumping, not wearing helmets or seat belts without any human intervention.
The cameras record the offence, and the backend system extracts the vehicle registration numbers and generates challans in the name of the vehicle owners. Even if the owners lend their vehicles to someone else, they have to pay the fine as the automated enforcement setup is linked to the Union road transport ministry’s vehicle database (Parivahan).
On April 26, the state home department amended the motor vehicle rules, 1989, giving such owners the option of submitting proof that they did not violate any rule and the vehicle was actually driven by another person. All they need to do is submit evidence they were innocent. If police are convinced, the challans generated will be quashed and a fresh case will be booked in the name of the actual offender using his/her driving licence number. Welcoming this, S Kamal, a transportation activist, said that apart from individual vehicle owners, this move will boost the rental car business. At present, many apps like Zoom Car or Revv share their vehicles with customers after obtaining their licence details.
But these users intentionally or unintentionally violate traffic rules and escape from paying the fine as the ANPR cameras directly booked only companies. Now, the companies can help police book the users, he said.
An exclusive traffic police control room keeps track of all challans and pending payments and a team can soon start processing such revised challans. Even if the violator is from another state, he/she can still be booked and police here can inform their counterparts for follow-up action, he added.
