No fuel for those flouting helmet rules

The petrol pumps in the garrison city will not sell fuel to motorcyclists who don’t wear helmets as traffic police launch a province-wide drive to ensure compliance.

The deputy inspector general of Punjab’s traffic police issued the directives comes in the wake of casualties due to traffic accidents during in Eid holidays.

According to the details, the DIG has sent a letter to chief traffic officers and DPOs of all districts including the chief traffic officer for Rawalpindi. It instructed them to ensure compliance with laws regarding helmets.

Officers privy to the developments said it was taken in light of an ‘alarming increase in the number of accidents.

The Rawalpindi police would also launch an awareness drive along with taking punitive actions against motorcyclists flouting the helmet rule. Violators would be fined Rs200, with the drive already underway in cities across Punjab.

Rawalpindi Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Taimur Khan said that his department had already rolled out the drive and was also ensuring enforcement. The Rawalpindi traffic police issued 6739 challans for not wearing helmets in the last month, he added.

The Rawalpindi traffic police have and will continue to stick to its slogan 'Helmet Nai To Safar Nai' (No helmet, no travel), the department revealed. The education wing of traffic police was making efforts to spread awareness so that the road journey could be made safe and sound, the CTO added. He also urged people to cooperate with traffic wardens.

The purpose of banning helmets is not to challan but to ensure the safety of life, Khan said. Precious lives can be saved to some extent by making helmet rules stricter, he added.

According to Pindi traffic police chief, motorcyclists constitute the majority of casualties in daily accidents. They are more prone to head injuries in case of accidents, which have a greater likelihood of being fatal.

According to Punjab Emergency Service Rescue 1122, there were 6,460 road traffic accidents across Punjab during the four days of Eid holidays. It resulted in 45 deaths, with the majority of accidents and casualties involving motorcycles and motorcyclists.

The ban has been welcomed by residents although they remain skeptical about enforcement and compliance. They said that such drives are effective for a few days, but after implementing them for some time, the traffic police become lax and compliance wanes.

Muhammad Kashif, who travels on a motorcycle, said that a similar drive started last year in which the district administration had ordered petrol pumps not to give fuel to motorcyclists who did not have helmets. “It lasted for a few days and then back to the usual.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 5^th, 2023.