Nagpur: The incidents of motorists driving without licence are on the rise in the Second Capital of Maharashtra.
According to reports, last year, the traffic police booked as many 15,000 motorists who failed to produce a valid driving licence till April end. However, in this calendar year, January 1 to April 30, the number of cases jumped to 28,487 in the same period. The fine for driving a vehicle without license has been increased from Rs 500 to Rs 5,000. Even after an increase in fine amount, the increased trend of motorists driving without licence is worrisome, reports said.
The traffic police action revealed that most offenders caught were youngsters. The police drive is particularly against teenagers driving without a licence. When the cops come across such offenders, they book them as well as the owner of the vehicle, police said.
An activist lamented that the increase in number of violators indicates the diminishing fear for penal action.Many junior college students brazenly ride vehicles without possessing valid driving licence. The cops should book the parents of teenagers for allowing them to get hold of the vehicle and drive on the roads, he demanded,
The action taken data of traffic police indicates that the highest number of people riding vehicles without driving licences were from North Nagpur as Indora traffic zone booked 6,122 motorists, followed by MIDC zone with 3,642 cases. Cotton Market zone, which houses many commercial and market areas like Cotton Market, Santra Market, Central Avenue etc too won the dubious distinction of rampant violation of motor vehicles act. Here, the traffic cops booked 3,457 drivers after they failed to produce a driving licence.
Sadar traffic zone too witnessed an increase in the number of people driving vehicles without licence. In 2021 (from January 1 to April 30), the zone had found zero violation, this year during the same period it booked 548 motorists.
