THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even though the officials complain that there are not enough officers for the enforcement wing of the Motor Vehicle Department, it is found that accidents can be avoided if procedures like inspections are made strict. Widespread inspection is undertaken only when there is a big accident.

When they say that the enforcement wing has only 368 officers, their duties are not clearly assigned. It has been two years since the enforcement wing was constituted and this many officers appointed. Till then each RTO had different squads.

The department has 1243 ministerial staff. If the service of some of these officers is provided to the enforcement wing the shortage of employees can be filled.

There is a demand that the GPS message indicating the overspeeding of tourist buses must be sent to the enforcement wing also. This can enable them to take quick action with the help of the police.

Meanwhile, officers are saying that tourist buses come for fitness tests after removing illegal sound systems and lights. Once the test is over, they refit all that on the bus. Even if a bus is blacklisted they cannot stop it when they are carrying passengers.

There are two ways to stop erring buses. The first is to block the interstate permit once the bus reaches the checkpoint. If the travel is informed prior, the bus’s violations can be checked and the permit blocked if necessary.

The other way is to remove the illegal fittings and take the vehicle to court for legal proceedings.

The fines for violations are very small. If the lights are too bright the fine is only Rs.250. For unnecessary fittings the fine is Rs.5000. The fine amounts are charged from the organizers of the trip in many cases.