Maharashtra: 15,000 licences were suspended in 1 year, most for rash driving

MUMBAI: At least 15,000 driving licences were suspended in the past one year, with many being suspended for three months for dangerous driving such as speeding, drunk driving and jumping signals. Of 1,324 accident-prone 'black' spots across the state, nearly 1,322 spots (99%) were attended to which reduced mishaps by 3,050 cases in the past one year, state transport commissioner Shekhar Channe said on Sunday.This included reduction of 606 mishaps in Mumbai alone.
The inauguration of Road Safety Week by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday will now be on a "positive note", Channe said. While Mumbai witnessed 19% drop in accidents, the state had a dip of 8%-close to the transport department's target of 10%, he said.
Channe said that the traffic police have been asked to take strict action and send licences for immediate suspension to local RTOs. Nearly 34 people die every day in mishaps, statistics showed.
Kalyan RTO chief Sanjay Sasane stressed on the need to continuously monitor the "black spots" and round-the-clock drives against speeding, lane-cutting, drunk-driving, riding without helmets/seatbelts and signal-jumping. "We need to discipline motorists as in most mishaps, human error is the cause," he said.
Karan Desai of United Way of Mumbai said the NGO will curb mishaps at black spots in the city, starting with Mahim Causeway junction, Siddhivinayak junction and Mazgaon Raod during Road Safety Week. "We are conducting surveys at black spots, and our reports indicate speeding was the primary cause for accidents in the city," he said.