With about 8 to 10 lakh vehicles passing through Noida Expressway daily, traffic congestion has become a significant issue. So to address this, the Noida Traffic Police has introduced new rules for vehicles that break down and disrupt traffic on the Noida Expressway. The new rule will allow the traffic police to issue heavy fines and even impound vehicles that break down and obstruct traffic flow on the expressway that connects Noida, Greater Noida, Delhi and Yamuna Expressway. For now, the rules only apply to commercial vehicles, but officials made it clear that these rules will soon be implemented for all kinds of vehicles.
The fines for obstructing the free flow of traffic on the Noida Expressway will be levied under Section 201 of the Motor Vehicles Act, with penalties ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000.
Lakhan Singh Yadav, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), said that the new rules aim to raise awareness among commercial vehicle owners to keep a check on their vehicles so traffic snarls can be avoided. He clarified that commercial vehicles include buses, trucks, DCM, overloading vehicles, etc. Mr Yadav also said that the penalty would be imposed on private vehicles soon.
“About 8 to 10 lakh vehicles pass through Noida Expressway. Areas like DND Flyover, Chilla Border, Prerna Stahl, etc., are the main hotspots where traffic-related issues emerge the most,” DCP Yadav told PTI.
“In the last seven days, we have seized 22 vehicles for breakdowns and around 210 vehicles were also issued challans,” he added.
Krishna Kumar Sharma, a resident of Greater Noida said, “It is a good initiative and will help in the unwanted disruption of the traffic on the Noida Expressway.” However, another resident Anil Kumar Chetiwal said, “Vehicles with emergency situations like flat tyres or some technical issue should not be fined.”
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Meanwhile, the new rules come about 2 months after officials announced new speed limits for light and heavy vehicles on the Yamuna Expressway and the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway.
On Yamuna Expressway, the speed limit has been reduced from 100 km/h to 75 km/h for light vehicles. For heavy vehicles, the speed limit has been reduced from 80 km/h to 60 km/h.
On the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, the speed limit is reduced from 100 km/h to 75 km/h for light vehicles. For heavy vehicles, it has been restricted to 50 km/h from 60 km/h earlier.
The new rules will remain in effect until February 15, 2025, covering the peak winter months when road conditions are often considered hazardous.