Rawalpindi - City Traffic Police issued over 59,000 tickets to traffic rules violators during February and collected Rs24 million in fines, Chief Traffic Officer Chaudhry Shahid Ali Yusaf said on Thursday.

In addition, the traffic police impounded a total of 467 vehicles and 781 bikes after the owners failed to provide registration books to the wardens or found involved in plying vehicles without displaying authorised registration number plates, Chaudhry said.

He said that the traffic wardens fined as many as 1,255 vehicle owners for using tainted glasses and also removed black sheets on the spot while issued tickets to 1,878 vehicle owners and motorcyclists for not producing registration books. “A total of 5,383 bikers were fined for not wearing helmets,” he added.  The CTO said that a total of 992 persons were fined for parking their vehicles in the no parking zones whereas 704 drivers and motorcyclists were fined for reckless and rash driving. “Traffic wardens imposed fine on 1,611 drivers of public transport vehicles for violating route permit laws,” he said.

Chaudhry said that some 1,513 juvenile drivers were also issued tickets, adding that 2,016 vehicle and motorcycle owners were slapped fines for using mobile phones while driving. Another 3,497 bikers and vehicle owners were issued tickets for driving without valid licenses, the CTO said. He said that 1,176 vehicle owners were issued fine tickets for causing disturbance in flow of traffic on roads while 1,682 motorists were fined for violation of red signal.

Similarly, he said, traffic wardens issued fine tickets to 978 motorists on account of violating zebra crossings or lanes on roads whereas 1,929 drivers of vehicles or motorcycles were fined over driving in wrong way.

The Chief Traffic Officer Chaudhry Yousaf Ali Shahid said that strict action had been initiated against all traffic violators. He said that the CTP had launched special awareness campaign to educate the road users about traffic rules in the city as well as on tehsil level. He said that special squads had also been constituted to provide emergency assistance to the road users.