“Total fines of Rs 36,800 were payable for e-challans issued against the SUV. An e-challan is sent to the owner of the vehicle irrespective of who drives it. So far, Rs 8,000 has been paid and the balance remains due,” said a traffic police officer. Police said a few days before the fatal crash, a challan had been issued against the SUV for speeding.
Experts from the regional transport office will carry out an examination of the car to establish the speed at which it was being driven when the crash occurred. Traffic police said the car was moving at less than 85kmph when it got on to the sea link and may have picked up speed thereafter.
“Automatic number plate recognition cameras (ANPR) have been mounted on either entry and exit of the sea link and on toll nakas. They capture images of vehicles that cross speeds of 85kmph. While the prescribed limit for the sea link is 80kmph, we have made a provision to allow an additional speed of 5kmph over it,” an officer said.
Experts say that on the day of the crash, no speeding challan was generated against the SUV, which means it was moving at less than 85kmph when it passed the ANPR cameras.