Daily Times

City Traffic Police (CTP) continue to take stern action against motorcyclists for not wearing a helmet and traffic wardens have also started warning citizens about the issue.

The CTP also fined 5,904 bikers on not wearing a helmet on Wednesday.

The CTP would also start taking strict action against motorcyclists for not wearing helmet on Jail Road next week. Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) presented a report to the Lahore High Court about action being taken against motorcyclists for not wearing helmets.

The CTO briefed that CTP has so far taken action against 27,827 motorcyclists on different violations across the city.

On the issue, LHC directed the CTO that action against motorcyclists for not wearing helmet on Mall Road, Jail Road, Ferozpur Road, Canal Road as well as other important roads across the city should be taken immediately.

Traffic duty has beefed up at all important city roads to implement this campaign strictly as well as educate the road users about traffic laws.

Traffic police had also started an awareness campaign about different traffic rules and ‘safe driving’ and how the drivers can by following traffic rules save their own and others lives.

Sources added the traffic police authorities have planned to make the drivers follow the traffic laws strictly just to ensure a decrease in deaths. They have also planned to meet the international standards of road safety. The authorities are also working on the idea of decreasing violation, which jeopardises the safety of road users.

CTO Liaquat Ali Malik said that the traffic on city roads is increasing day-by-day due to population explosion and many people die and several get injured daily in road mishaps only because of lack of knowledge about traffic laws, especially the youngsters riding motorcycles, do not care about the rules and regulations.

He said that stern action would be taken against pillion riding and those not wearing helmets because these were the main reasons behind accidents and increasing number deaths on roads among the youth during the last few years. He said the chances of fatal injuries occurring during accidents increased in the absence of a helmet.

Meanwhile, citizens are apprehensive of prices of helmets to increase due to the move and due to improper checking and monitoring of price hike. They said that the concerned department failed to control the price hike in the markets which created more burden on the people who also suffered seriously due to price hike issues like electricity, gas, other utility bills and daily needs of life.

According to the citizens, the prices of helmets would increase further as they were already expensive. They said a helmet was being sold for Rs 500 to Rs 1,500 normally for a low quality manufacture, but after the restrictions, the price would double as had happened in the past. He said due to the price hike, incidents of helmet theft were also being reported.

They said no motorcycle company provided helmets to the buyers at the time of purchase and now thousands of motorcyclists would have to buy helmets at inflated prices. They said that the government and other concerned departments must plan to bound the motorcycle companies of providing helmets on every motorbike purchase.

Published in Daily Times, September 27^th 2018.