Pune: Vehicles caught on the wrong side of road would be impounded for only six days now with the city traffic police making an abrupt U-turn from their six-month confiscation warning. Police have reduced the confiscation period citing inadequate space to keep the impounded vehicles on the premises of their traffic division offices. The move comes barely three weeks after Pune police chief Amitesh Kumar on Oct 17 said the impounded vehicles would not be released for six months.
"Such motorists not only put their lives in danger but are a threat to other road users," Kumar had said at the time. Calls made to Kumar by TOI on Thursday went unanswered. Motorists involved in wrong-side driving/riding generally block movement of other vehicles, particularly during peak hours, resulting in traffic jams.
The six-month confiscation period was expected to serve as a deterrent, but the police action against wrong-way drivers has slowed down despite their claims to the contrary. Between July and Oct this year, the traffic police caught 68,777 motorists driving on the wrong side of the road. However, until the middle of Oct, police imposed fines on such violators and let them off.
From Oct 15, they started impounding vehicles and seized over 1,000 by early Nov. The reality of space crunch at the traffic division offices dawned on the officials only at this point. Additional commissioner of police Manoj Patil told TOI, "We confiscated over 1,000 vehicles, but it created a space crunch for .