‘Action taken against 263,260 traffic violators in Peshawar’

PESHAWAR: The traffic police have taken action against 263,260 people for various violations during the last three months, officials said on Friday.

"We have been doing our best to ensure safety for drivers on the city roads and action was taken against 1267 drivers for not wearing seatbelts while 89309 bikers were issued tickets for not wearing helmets during the last three months," chief traffic officer Abbas Majeed Marwat told The News.

The official that 85 per cent motorcyclists were now wearing helmets due to the strict action and awareness campaigns in the provincial capital. He continued that for the safety of pedestrians more zebra crossing points have been set up while fish bellies were being introduced for smooth flow of traffic as well as to avoid accidents.

"As many as 250 bikers were issued tickets for one wheeling while 1415 people were challanned for using cellphones during driving," said Abbas Majeed. The official said the traffic police were doing their best to prevent accidents and save lives as well as ensure smooth flow of traffic on all the roads in Peshawar.

The chief traffic officer said a campaign was also underway against encroachments in many parts of the provincial capital. Many have appreciated the setting up of zebra crossings on various roads, asking for more on the busy roads of the city where these are needed.

Besides, they asked for more fish bellies on U-Turns as it will not only help save lives but also ensure smooth flow of traffic at these points. The traffic police have recently issued WhatsApp number for road users to contact directly with Chief Traffic Officer on 0316-2068600 in case of any grievances.

The CTO said motorists were being educated and updated all the time through FM radio and social media so they take alternative routes to reach their destinations. Abbas said all possible resources were being utilized to address problems faced by road users. He said he himself was supervising all matters pertaining to city traffic police.

There used to be traffic jams at certain bottlenecks on main roads of the city during peak hours that affected the traffic flow of the entire district. More cops needed to be deployed and their performance monitored at these points.

Besides, the city roads especially the University Road, GT Road , Kohat Road, Ring Road, Charsadda Road, Dilazak Road, Bara Road and Warsak Road need electronic traffic signals in squares and fish bellies in all the U-Turns to save lives by avoiding accidents.