Bengaluru

wheelie wonkers

Right to Information

DL holders

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Bangalore

Despite cases against 307 and warnings, not a single licence has been cancelledYoung two-wheeler riders who are treatingroads as drag race tracks and performing wheelies and life-threatening stunts have become the bane of the traffic police and commuters alike.But despite police booking thesefor violations and threatening them that they will stand to lose their driving licences, the transport department has not taken any action to revoke their (driving) licence to thrill.Surprisingly, in a(RTI) reply from the Commissioner for Transport and Senior Regional Transport Officer, it is learnt that no DLs have been cancelled in the last three years based on the violations committed or accidents byThe Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) department officials said that they have been booking cases against wheelie wonkers. On June 10, the traffic police booked five bikers and one minor for racing and performing wheelies in MS Palya Junction, Jakkur Junction and Bengaluru-Ballari bypass junction. A week before that, the East Division Traffic Police had booked 64 vehicles for traffic violations.According to BTP, 168 cases of wheelie acts were booked in 2017, 79 in 2018 and till date about 60 riders have been booked for performing wheelie stunts.A resident of Whitefield, Prakash Kumar said, “So many youth perform drag racing on the NICE road from Electronic City to Bannerghatta Road, and the Regional Transport Office (RTO) says not even one DL has been cancelled in the last three years.” This has come as a shock to residents who wonder why this has been not taken seriously by the transport department.Priya Chetty Rajagopal, another resident said, “It is really surprising that the Transport department has not taken any strict actions so far despite the traffic police booking so many cases. These riders are a threat to everyone around and strong action must be taken against the offenders.”Aashish Verma, transport expert from Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru said, “Riders engaging in bike stunts on the roads is dangerous and puts many lives at risk. Preventive measures must be taken to ensure that these things do not happen in the future. The agencies responsible for preventing these violations must look into existing laws to punish the guilty.”Bengaluru police who have been conducting various awareness drives and spreading messages through social media say that they are helpless if the driving licenses are not cancelled.Speaking toMirror, Harishekaran, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) said, “We have been booking cases for these stunts and other violations time and again. We have sent a lot of letters to the transport department to cancel the DLs of these offenders. In fact, I have personally written letters to the transport department that they should cancel DLs of these violators. But, if you ask me why no DLs have been cancelled, I cannot answer that question.”The principal secretary of State transport Department, B Basavaraju says that performing stunts is an offence according to the law. “We have considered these stunts seriously. People riding without helmets, without seatbelts, talking over the mobile phone - all these offences should be punished and their DLs cancelled. But we usually give one or two warnings and the third time their DL is cancelled,” he said.He also added, “But, whenever the Police department has recommended the cancellation of DLs, we have done it. Because, these acts are not only dangerous for the people who are doing these stunts, they are also a disturbance for the public and motorists. So as and when the Police recommends it, we have cancelled the DLs. But, some data might be missing in this case. We will look it up.”