Recovering vehicles towed away by traffic police for parking in a no-parking zone is all set to become more expensive as the state home department increased the ‘Helper and Towing’ charges across the state.
As per reports, the Helper and Towing charges, which is a part of the no-parking fine, was increased recently for all classes of vehicles. The revised helper and towing charges for a car is Rs 450, which is a substantial increase from the earlier Rs 325. Similarly, the charges for a two-wheeler has been increased from Rs 160 to Rs 225. These are apart from the basic fine that the violators must pay to the police. For vehicles involved in road accidents, the government has increased the helper and towing charges by 10-25%, depending on the category of the vehicle.
The Chennai police have been cracking down on vehicles parked in no-parking zones since December last year. Apart from locking the wheels of the cars, the police have also been towing away vehicles if they had caused traffic obstructions on busy streets and roads.
The decision to revise the charges came after the police found it difficult to find helpers who will be on the towing vehicle doing the rounds around the city. While the police hire towing vehicles on monthly rent, the charges for the helpers were being paid by the police department and then filed for reimbursement from the department later on.
In Chennai, less than 25,000 vehicles are booked for parking in unauthorised spots every month. However, the number has increased to 40,000 in February says the news report. Annually, around 3 lakh vehicles are asked to pay fine for parking in unauthorised spots in Chennai. Obstructive parking has also caused fatal accidents in which 320 people have died in 1700 accidents.