Coimbatore: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Wednesday said the new Motor Vehicles Act is “good law” that would certainly help the people by drastically bringing down road accidents.
“A mishap happens only when the road-user breaks law. We can prevent these accidents only through appropriate action”, he told reporters at the airport here. He added that he would soon “closely scrutinise” the new MV Act “and decide on how to implement it in the state”.
Batting for stiff penalties to bring down violation of traffic rules, CM Palaniswami said he had found during his recent foreign trip the impact of hefty punishment on the maintenance of order on the roads. “They cancel the driving licence if the driver breaks rules a third time. In England, you cannot see a policeman on the road; yet you will quickly get a fine ticket at home when you violate traffic law, thanks to the electronic policing through CCTV cameras”, he said.
He said the helmet rule was being strictly implemented as directed by the High Court. “As a result, the incidence of helmet use has gone up”.
CM Palaniswami lamented that protests broke out when the government announced the eight-lane highway connecting Chennai and Salem, whereas he found, during his foreign trip, traffic moving smoothly on expressways with up to 16 lanes. A good travel/transport network is important for the economic growth of any society, he said, adding, “That's our ultimate goal”.
