Call to accelerate traffic awareness drive

Education wing’s efforts to focus on perils of underage driving

RAWALPINDI:

Rawalpindi City Police Officer (CPO) Syed Khalid Hamdani has directed the City Traffic Police (CTP) to accelerate an ongoing awareness campaign about traffic rules and road safety.

According to a police spokesperson, the CPO chairing a meeting had instructed the SSP Operations, Hafiz Kamran Asghar, Chief Traffic Officer, Taimoor Khan, Senior Traffic Officer, Munir Hashmi, Divisional SPs, SDPOs and other officers to take solid steps to create awareness about traffic rules and road safety.

He directed the Traffic Education Unit of CTP to spread awareness regarding the dangers of underage driving particularly in educational institutions. Special driving classes should also be started in educational institutions for students who are eligible for driving licenses, the CPO instructed.

The Education Wing had been directed to accelerate the awareness campaign about traffic rules and road safety. The road users should strictly observe traffic signs, signals and other traffic rules and regulations, he said.

Read Traffic police drive targets nursery students 

The CPO also directed the education wing to arrange lectures, seminars, walks, radio programs and use other mediums to spread awareness. More resources should be provided to the traffic education unit so that the scope of the awareness campaign could be expanded, the CPO said and directed the authorities concerned to launch a crackdown against encroachments on Murree Road.

Solid steps should also be taken to resolve traffic problems, particularly on Murree Road and Adiala Road and all-out efforts should be made to improve traffic flow on city roads. The spokesperson said Rawalpindi District Police were taking action as per the law against underage drivers. 1,108 FIRs had been registered against underage drivers during the last 13 days, he added.

He urged parents to discourage driving by underage drivers. He said fatal road accidents occur due to speeding and reckless driving of the drivers particularly underage. The ongoing operation against underage drivers and other traffic rules violators had been accelerated.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2023.