RTO: Around 8,500 motorists challaned on Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Mahamarg, ₹25 cr fine collected

Mumbai: The Regional Transport Office (RTO) has issued 8,479 challans and collected around ₹25.99 crore fines from motorists plying on the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Mahamarg since it was inaugurated in December last year till September 15.

This data was revealed on Sunday, a few hours after 12 persons were killed and 23 injured after a speeding minibus hit a container truck on Samruddhi Expressway in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

RTO has been issuing at least 32 challans every day to motorists for speeding, illegal parking, drunk driving, lane cutting, and other offences under the Motor Vehicles Act committed on the 701-km long Expressway, said RTO sources.

The transport department, which has a Road Safety wing, is stating that the RTOs have been taking drives on this 600-km long expressway from Shirdi to Nagpur, and inspecting vehicles. The officials said that they have caught 4,100 for lane cutting, 5,315 for illegal parking, 2,143 without reflectors on vehicles, and nearly 450 for overspeeding on the expressway till mid-September.

Sources said that these squads inspected close to 50,000 tyres of vehicles plying on this expressway, checked 4,600 bus drivers with breath analysers, and counselled more than 2,100 drivers for 30 minutes on road safety.

These RTO squads work in nine divisions of Nagpur, Wardha, Amravati, Washim, Buldhana, Jalna, Aurangabad, Srirampur and Nashik.

Kanayalal Golani, member and former president, Welfare Organisation for Road Safety and Prevention of Accidents, said, that he would be able to comment on this accident only after going through its details.

Golani said: “One of the most common reasons behind late-night accidents is when a driver falls asleep behind the wheel. Between 1am to 4am, there is a high chance of the driver falling asleep as the body is tired even though the driver might have rested during the day. On expressways such as the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Mahamarg, drivers are tempted to speed on its smooth roads without realising their driving capabilities.”

In July this year, a tourist bus caught fire on the Samruddhi Expressway near Buldhana. Over 25 people, including 10 women, lost their lives, and eight others were injured.