Haripur police launch drive to control traffic accidents

HARIPUR: The police on Monday launched a campaign to raise awareness among the people about over-speeding to control the motorcycle related accidents and deaths in the district.

Briefing reporters, District Police Officer Zahidullah Jan said the growing number of deaths and disabilities of citizens, especially youngsters due to motorcycle accidents had necessitated launching the drive. Claiming that he was the pioneer of the campaign called “promise” in the KP province, the DPO said that most of the fatal and non-fatal accidents of bike riders occurred owing to avoiding the use of helmet, one wheeling and lack of traffic sense. He said he had developed standard operating procedures (SOPs) for different stakeholders of the traffic system. The first SOP, he added, was for the motorcycle dealers who would be bound to sell at least two helmets to each of the clients with necessary safety guards meant for protecting the legs of the person on driving seat. He said these dealers would henceforth mention the sale of the helmet to each of the buyers in the sale invoice while only those clients would be sold motorbike who would produce the copy of the driving license.

The excise department would issue a registration number to an applicant producing the invoice of purchase of two helmets, safety guards and copy of the driving license. The petrol pumps would not sell petrol to underage drivers, especially in bottles while the students would be educated about traffic laws, advantages of wearing a helmet while driving and harms of driving without helmet and violation of traffic laws, he added. The DPO talked about other SOPs which would be implemented in letter and spirit to prevent traffic accidents.

To a question, he said the police would not apply the routine methods of policing and instead check violations in a more friendly way using the strategy of involving all the stakeholders.