Tamil Nadu

Drive on to regulate share-autorickshaws

— Photo: A. Muralitharan

CHECK: Transport Department officials detaining share-autorickshaws on GST Road in Tambaram on Monday.

TAMBARAM: As many as 35 share autorickshaws were detained by the Transport Department in the southern suburbs of Chennai on charges of carrying more than the permitted number of passengers and modifying the vehicles for this purpose.

Personnel of the Regional Transport Office, Meenambakkam (at Alandur) and Motor Vehicle Inspector Office, Tambaram, conducted the checks in the past three days on arterial roads.

Most vehicles were detained on charges of carrying more than the permitted number of passengers. Some drivers had accommodated more than a dozen passengers, cramped in the rear seat and also in the driver’s seat. Some other vehicles’ drivers did not possess proper documents. A few of them were registered in nearby districts, including Villupuram and did not have the permission to operate in Chennai, officials said on Monday.

Officials said the latest drive was past of the Road Safety Week and also to bring in some regulation among the share autorickshaw drivers. The main complaint against them was overloading and modifying seats to accommodate as many as 15 people. While conceding that the vehicles helped in transporting people on routes that were not well connected by government or private buses, officials said most share-autos operated on arterial roads with adequate bus services.

Equipped with a powerful engine, these share-autos often speed past taking other road-users by surprise. Their rash driving and their practice of suddenly swerving to stop and pick up waiting passengers irritated two-wheelers. Officials said the drive against the share autos would not be restricted to the Road Safety Week, but from this year onwards, it would be regular.

On Sunday, more than 100 drivers of the regular autorickshaws took part in a sensitisation meeting organised by Tambaram Traffic Police (Enforcement). At the meeting held at the Ambedkar Municipality Marriage Hall, traffic policemen said they received a plethora of complaints from residents of East Tambaram about autorickshaw drivers behaving offensively.

“Avoid drunk driving, do not chew pan or tobacco while talking to passengers or while driving your autos,” M.Arumugharaj, Inspector, told the auto drivers.

He also reminded them to be courteous with their passengers and also asked them to wear proper uniform, have identity cards and possess the relevant documents without fail.

While pledging their support and cooperation to the law-enforcers, auto drivers also complained that they were at times subjected to harassment in the form of checks.

Further, staff on duty at government hospitals suspected auto drivers who helped to bring accident victims to medical attention.

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