It inconveniences commuters, could cause accidents as vehicles brake suddenly when signalled like I was
LAHORE: Normally, I don’t stop for people who step in front of my car without warning (having been mugged like this once). Lucky, though, that I did stop for the Excise and Taxation inspector who stopped me last week in Lahore and asked to check my vehicle’s registration and tax payment receipt.
I am appalled at the way the government is running this exercise. It inconveniences commuters, could cause accidents as vehicles brake suddenly when signalled like I was, and causes traffic disruption as vehicles queue up on busy roads. Some people I know have been stopped multiple times despite having everything in order.
The Punjab government has long touted innovations in IT. This is one area to put those innovations to good use. Registration and token tax payment data are already present online. It should be a simple matter to link it all up to an automatic scanning system and stop only those vehicles that fail the scan. This will save resources while being more effective.
Adeel Ahmed
Published in The Express Tribune, June 13th, 2015.
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