Transport dept set to go tough on rules violators

Having received a dressing down from the Supreme Court Committee on road safety, the transport department is planning to intensify the enforcement work as a short-term measure to meet the panel’s two-month ultimatum on checking the growing number of deaths due to mishaps in UP.

The department may also start holding weekly meetings to review the road safety on a regular basis on the line of law and order to achieve quick results.

“An intensified enforcement is the only short-term measure that we can take to show results to the Supreme Court Committee when it calls the next quarterly meeting to review the progress,” said an official, adding “We will soon issue directions to RTOs and others to act against those violating traffic rules.

Observing that UP was the country’s only state where the number of road accidents was rising, committee, at a meeting in Delhi on Tuesday, issued a two-month ultimatum to the authorities to take prompt action to reduce the fatalities.

Poor enforcement of rules is considered to be primarily responsible for growing number of accident deaths in the state with the traffic drives often ending up as a mere eyewash.

For an example, the transport department and traffic police together have been found to have taken action against only 10,000 people for not wearing helmets during a three-month special drive launched in June.

“Issuing only 10,000 challans in three months for not wearing a protective headgear is a poor reflection on the enforcement agencies,” said sources.

More than 19,000 people died in the state in road accidents in 2016. Significantly, it was found 30% of the people who died in road accidents were driving two wheelers and among them 59% were not wearing helmets when they met with accidents. 16% of deaths were due to using mobile phones while driving while 79% victims died as they were not using seat belts while driving and 34% of the deaths were due to over speeding.

“This is because of unchecked violation of rules with regard to helmet and seat belts etc that UP report more accidents deaths in the state despite a lower number of road mishaps compared with many other states,” sources said.

Similarly, the enforcement was found equally weak with regard to the Apex Court committee’s earlier directions to suspend driving licences as many as possible for a period not less than three months for offences likes over-speeding and drunken driving.

The committee, according to sources was surprised to see that only 3,000 driving licences had been suspended since it ordered the same two years ago.

Sources disclosed that even of the 3,000 driving licences that had been suspended, very few belong to UP. “In most of the cases, the persons whose driving licences were suspended happened to be from other states like Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan etc,” they claimed.