PANAJI
The Transport Department has suspended an average of 25 driving licenses per day with a total of 6,980 licenses revoked from January to September this year.
The majority of these suspensions were that of two-wheeler riders as 4,892 licenses were suspended for riding without helmets.
Another 762 licenses were revoked for over-speeding while 415 were suspended for driving under the influence of alcohol – offense which has become a growing menace in the recent past. Violations for not wearing seat belts saw the lowest four suspensions.
Details with The Goan reveal that the total suspensions were against requests to revoke licenses of a whopping 11,039 violators made by the Goa Police.
With an average of 500-800 violations recorded per month, the State continues to grapple with daily road accidents. Nearly 1,900 mishaps have been reported this year and over 200 lives lost.
Director General of Police Alok Kumar, in a recent conversation with The Goan, had stated that their prosecution drives primarily focus on behaviour contributing to accidents such as over-speeding, drunken driving, and use of mobile phones while riding/driving. “We also target actions that increase fatality risks, such as riding without helmets or failing to use seat belts,” he added.
The State has also been conducting short-lived special drives against various violations. Another crackdown on drunken driving began this Friday night and will continue till Sunday.
The Traffic Department has already recorded about 3,800 cases of drunk driving this year, which has been a 200 per cent jump compared to the corresponding period last year.
