Road Safety Fortnight to crackdown on habitual offenders

Health cards will be issued for commercial vehicle drivers, and patrolling will be intensified during hours of dense fog.

As per the directions of the Uttar Pradesh government, the transport department has prepared an action plan to reduce road accidents by 50% in the upcoming year. As part of this initiative, Road Safety Fortnight will be observed in every district from December 15 to 31.

A traffic police personnel warns bike rider for not wearing helmet. (HT File Photo)

During this period, fitness tests will be conducted for school vehicles, and medical tests will be carried out for drivers, said a government release. Additionally, there will be an awareness campaign on traffic rules for school children, including a pledge on road safety during school assemblies.

Health cards will be issued for commercial vehicle drivers, and patrolling will be intensified during hours of dense fog. The transport department will also ensure compliance checks of orders issued from time to time, aiming to prevent vehicle drivers from deviating from traffic rules and causing accidents.

Instructions have been given to all district and divisional authorities to schedule a date for road safety committees to discuss the goals for Road Safety Fortnight in the presence of public representatives. The government release emphasizes that the results of actions taken against anyone who flouts traffic rules should be reflected on the ground.

In this regard, the statement noted, “If any driver receives a challan more than three times in a row, their license should be cancelled. Continued violation of rules will result in the cancellation of their vehicle registration.”

Finally, the statement directs that checks should also be conducted on critical care facilities in various districts to ensure they are equipped to handle emergency cases from accident sites. The statement underscored, “Overspeeding, wrong-side driving, use of mobile phones, and drunk driving are the main causes of road accidents. This is a man-made disaster; hence, there is a need to create awareness to reduce it. This is a sensitive and important issue.”

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“In accordance with the instructions given by the Hon’ble Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety, action has been taken to suspend the driving license for various offenses like jumping red light, overspeeding, overloading, carrying persons in goods vehicles, using mobile phone while driving, drunk driving etc.,” said a notice from the office of the transport commissioner (UP), Chandra Bhushan Singh.