Recently, many cases of drivers watching movies, reels, cricket matches, and talking on the phone with headphones have been reported. A decision regarding action against drivers wearing headphones while driving will be taken in a meeting with Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik on Monday (April 28). The WhatsApp contact number, currently designated for the Andheri Regional Transport Office, will be made available for the entire Mumbai Metropolitan Region for lodging complaints against the drivers they find breaking this law. The number of two-wheeler and four-wheeler drivers watching movies, reels, or cricket matches while wearing headphones has increased significantly, leading to a rise in accidents.
On March 22, a Shivneri ST bus driver on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway was caught engrossed in watching a cricket match. One of the passengers recorded the incident and sent it to Sarnaik, who immediately ordered the bus corporation to suspend the driver. Since the bus belonged to a private contractor, a fine of Rs 5,000 was imposed on the contractor. It has been a month since orders were issued to formulate rules for taking action against drivers wearing headphones, but no action has been taken so far. Therefore, Sarnaik has announced that he will question the concerned officers during the ST Corporation's meeting on April 28.
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Passengers are encouraged to send audio-visual recordings or photographs to the RTO office if they notice drivers using headphones while driving, making it easier to take action against such drivers. Although instructions were given a month ago, no implementation has yet occurred. Sarnaik emphasized that he will seek answers in Monday's ST Corporation meeting and made it clear that no action endangering the lives of passengers will be tolerated.