Rawalpindi - The City Traffic Police (CTP) will not allow the bikers without helmets to enter Mall Road and Peshawar Road from December 1. The Rawalpindi district administration on the recommendation from the Rawalpindi Chief Traffic Officer had issued a notification to ban the entry of helmet-less motorcyclists to the Mall Road and Peshawar Road from December 1.
CTP spokesman talking to APP said that the CTP had launched a campaign to make helmets compulsory for all motorbike riders on the directives of the Lahore High Court (LHC). He informed that the Rawalpindi District Administration had also decided to impose a ban on helmet-less bikers to get petrol from petrol pumps from December 1. The district administration would take strict action against petrol pumps giving fuel to motorcyclists without helmets. The Deputy Commissioner (DC) Rawalpindi Dr Umer Jahangir on the recommendation of City Traffic Officer had issued directions to all petrol pumps not to supply petrol to helmet-less bikers. As part of the drive, he said that the CTP has issued over 25,000 tickets to the bikers for not using helmets and imposed fine over seven million rupees for violating the rules in last 25 days. Moreover, he said the CTP had impounded nearly 3800 motorbikes within the remits of different police stations during this period.
He said the CTP had decided to strictly implement the rules for motorbike riders to ensure their safety. Meanwhile, Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Muhammad Ashraf Bin Sunday advised bikers to use helmet to avoid fatal accidents. Traffic police would impose fines and will impound the motorbike of riders without helmets, the CTO said in a statement. He said wearing a helmet could save a life in case of an accident.
“Sometimes it is the only difference between life and death,” he added.
He said the traffic police were making all out efforts to regulate the flow of traffic on Murree road. Ashraf said wardens should perform their duties with dedication to ensure smooth flow of traffic on the city’s main roads. He stressed that drivers should follow the lane, zebra crossing and other instructions to avoid accidents. He suggested that drivers of public transport should rest after two hours driving, as it would help in minimizing road accidents.
To facilitate the bikers, the local management and traffic officials have also established stalls of helmets where motorcyclists could buy all kinds of helmets on cheaper prices than the open market. The local management has established helmet stalls here at Kutchery Chowk, Mareer Hassan and Jhelum Road. The stalls of local management are selling a low quality helmet at Rs. 500 against Rs. 700 in open market shops while fine quality helmet at Rs. 800 against Rs.1500 in the open market.