Fitness certificates, licences must for heavy vehicles entering city, rules SHC

The Sindh High Court (SHC) ordered the traffic and transport authorities on Friday to check heavy vehicles set to enter the city for fitness as well as ensure the drives had valid licences before the vehicles entered the city.  

Observing that more people were dying in traffic related incidents than in terrorist attacks, a division bench of the SHC maintained that over 200 people died in traffic mishaps last year. The bench, headed by Justice Nadeem Akhtar observed that violators of traffic laws were no less than terrorists.

The bench directed the concerned authorities to ensure that heavy vehicles without complete documents, fitness certificate and valid driving license did not enter the city.

The directives came on a petition of Faisal Bengali and others against plying of heavy vehicles on roads and residential areas of the city during daytime.

The petitioners had maintained that they were permanent residents of Karachi and distressed over of the prevailing traffic situation of the city that was deteriorating day by day.

Asked at the last hearing to submit details of road accidents in which heavy vehicles were involved since the beginning of the current year, the DIG Traffic on Friday maintained that the traffic police had no power to register FIRs of traffic accidents and requested the court to direct the government to establish a police station where such cases could be registered.

The court also expressed dissatisfaction over the secretary transport’s report – also sought in the previous hearing - and directed him to formulate a policy or frame rules in order to avoid unlimited number of buses and coaches on any one route and submit the policy within 15 days.

The secretary transport had informed the court that the government was taking steps to formulate a policy for passenger buses and criteria to check their fitness certification.

He had observed that new passenger buses will be inducted in the city to reduce traffic problems as replacement of old buses without induction of new buses would create problems for the citizens.

At the previous hearing, the petitioner’s counsel Muhammad Abdur Rehman had informed the court that the Supreme Court had directed the traffic police chief in August 2007 to immediately stop entry of heavy vehicles in the city during daytime and regulate their flow only between 11pm and 6am.

He said the top court had observed that except in special cases, the ban on entry of heavy vehicles in the city during daytime would continue to remain in force until further orders.

He added that on February 20 the city commissioner had imposed a ban on entry of heavy vehicles in the city between 6am and 11pm for three years.

The counsel pointed out that despite the orders of the Supreme Court and the commissioner, heavy vehicles were plying in every part of the city, including residential areas, and threatening the lives, liberties and properties of the citizens.

He said the authorities, including the transport department and the traffic police, were duty-bound to take immediate and appropriate measures for improving the traffic flow and ensuring safety of the public. The bench had then ordered the traffic and transport authorities to ensure that movement of heavy vehicles was not allowed in Karachi at any time, except water tankers or, in special cases, vehicles carrying commodities for daily use.

The court had also ordered to not allow outdated and smoke emitting vehicles and buses to ply on the city’s roads, besides also asking the traffic authorities to submit details of road accidents in which heavy vehicles were involved since the beginning of 2017.