Traffic police announce rain emergency plan

The city traffic police announced its rain emergency plan on Wednesday in view of the heavy downpour forecast in the metropolitan.

DIG Asif Aijaz Sahikh of the Karachi traffic police said all SSPs, DSPs and SOs had been directed to ensure their presence along with their staff in their respective jurisdictions during the rain.

He said no body would be allowed to park their vehicles at intersections and service roads.

DIG Shaikh said traffic police personnel would stay alert to tow away broken vehicles on roads. “The relevant section officer will immediately use a tow truck to move away any broken vehicle.”

Moreover, all DSPs and SOs had been ordered to contact Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) staff if any tree fell down, he said, adding that all sections of the traffic police had been ordered to use their all resources to ensure smooth traffic flow and help commuters in every possible way.

In case of any emergency, citizens can call the traffic police for assistance on helpline 1915 or 99216355-56 & 58.

DIG Shaikh said the smart phone users could also get updates of the traffic situation from the official accounts of the traffic police on Twitter and Facebook.

Safety tips 

The traffic police have issued the following instructions about driving in rain.

Drivers are requested to please check and maintain their vehicle’s wipers. Drive slowly so that vehicle should not go out of control in case of applying emergency breaks.

Car drivers should attach an additional pipe piece (a rubber pipe) with their vehicle’s silencer so that rain water could not enter the vehicle’s silencer.

For safety purpose, switch on the head and back lights of the vehicle while driving. Your vehicle must be in a proper condition before you take it on a road. Motorcyclists are requested to refrain from going into deep waters. Motorcycle riders are also requested to use safety helmets, slow down their speed, and keep a low level of air pressure in bike’s tyres to prevent their motorcycles from slipping. Do not drive on the wrong side of a road and also avoid using one-way tracks as many accidents are occurred during rains on such tracks.

Vehicles that run on diesel are more reliable to drive through waters accumulated on roads than vehicles that run on petrol.