Kathmandu, November 17

Metropolitan Traffic Police Division has started taking action against bikers riding mechanically modified motorcycles in Kathmandu valley.

Traffic police swung into action two weeks after issuance of a public notice against use of motorcycles altered from factory standards.

Senior Superintendent of Police Bhim Prasad Dhakal, MTPD in-charge, said as many as 345 two-wheelers were detained on the first day of the campaign yesterday. The bikers were released after imposing a fine of up to Rs 5,000 on them.

Motorcyclists using modified exhaust pipe and removing or dislocating rear-view looking glasses were penalised for violating traffic rules. “Mechanical alteration of a motorcycle is not only punishable by law but vulnerable to road accidents as well. Therefore, the action against such bikes is both for implementation of the law and reduction of road accidents,” SSP Dhakal said.

Two-wheelers are involved in most of the road accidents and have claimed most lives in the last five years inside the valley. According to statistics of MTPD, as many as 46,349 road accidents were recorded in the last five years inside the valley. Of the total road accidents, two-wheelers were involved in 26,184 accidents, approximately 56.49 per cent. Those riding mechanically altered motorcycles are more reckless than others.

A section of motorcyclists enjoy revving engines loudly on the road and add to noise pollution against the legal provisions. The number of youths using fancy bikes has increased in recent years.

Some fancy bikes have factory-made brutal exhaust sound, while others get the exhaust pipe mechanically modified to make them louder. The law prohibits any mechanical modification of vehicles for any

purpose.

Traffic police seize such motorcycles to ascertain if their silencers were factory-made or modified. They can bring to book the modified bikes, but cannot do anything about the persons riding two-wheelers whose silencers are fixed by the company as per their cubic capacity.

Traffic police lack exact data of such fancy bikes. More than 2.6 million bikes were registered with the Department of Transport Management as of fiscal 2018-19.