Overloaded vehicles use locking device to evade impounding

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Mahendragarh, February 23

Owners of heavy vehicles carrying load more than the prescribed limit are using lock devices as a tool to evade impounding action by officers of Road Transport Authority (RTA) in the district.

They lock the vehicles through GPS lock device while sitting even at a distant place. Interestingly, the vehicle driver also flees from the spot.

The situation forces the RTA officials to challan the vehicle online in place of impounding it.

In all, 72 heavy vehicles have been challaned in the district in the past fortnight for overloading and 25 per cent vehicles among those could not be impounded as their owner locked the vehicle on getting information about RTA checking.

Once such a vehicle is impounded, it cannot be released until the vehicle owner pays the penalty. In case of online challan, the owner is free to deposit the fine before annual passing of the vehicle or renewal of permit, said sources.

Sources said three vehicles carrying load more than prescribed limit were found parked on the Narnaul-Nijampur road here when Muneesh Nagpal, secretary, RTA, launched a checking operation over a week ago.

“All the vehicles were locked through the GPS device while neither the driver nor cleaner was sitting inside. As the officials wanted to impound those, technical experts were roped in to disable the device for taking the vehicle to the police station, but they could not succeed.

“Thereafter, the vehicles had to be challaned online. As soon as the RTA officials left the place, the driver of the vehicles came there and drove those towards their destination,” the sources maintained.

Sources pointed out the owner has to face loss on a daily basis if his/her vehicle is impounded. Hence, he/she try to pay the fine as early as possible to get the vehicle released.

Nagpal confirmed that the GPS locking system was being used by heavy vehicles to evade impounding action. He informed one or two such cases had also come to the fore wherein two GPS or similar devices were found fitted in the vehicles to lock those.

“Online challan system has provided the RTA another option to penalise the vehicles. Overloaded vehicles that were locked by their owners went unpunished when the option of online challan was not available in the past,” Nagpal added.

How it is done

• The overloaded vehicles are locked through GPS locking device from a distance by owners. Neither the driver nor cleaner is sitting inside the vehicle
• When technical experts are roped in to disable the device for taking the vehicle to the police station, they do not succeed. So, the vehicles have to be challaned online
• As soon as the RTA officials leave the place, the driver of the vehicles come there and drive those towards their destination