Traffic police begin 2013 with innovative 7-day campaign

The city traffic police ushered in the New Year with a host of initiatives to spread awareness regarding road safety, HT reports.

The city traffic police ushered in the New Year with a host of initiatives to spread awareness regarding road safety.

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The week-long programme, from January 1-7, saw innovative drives such as the distribution of roses among motorists who violate traffic rules and a special camp to train school bus drivers.

Commuters, however, questioned the long-term impact of such drives.

Despite the awareness campaign launched on the Gurgaon Expressway and other major roads, non-adherence to lane discipline has seen no improvement. Truck drivers are still seen straying from lanes marked for heavy vehicles.

The menace of overtaking, speeding and entry of non-tag users in the tag-only lanes is also a constant complaint.

Kunal Sharma, a resident of DLF City Phase 4, said, "Such drives are of no use. The police presence is visible only on the day they are seen distributing pamphlets and flowers."

DCP (east) Maheshwar Dayal, however, feels that such campaign do have an impact.

"Most offenders do not repeat their mistakes after paying a fine," he said.

Many locals were also seen taking part in the various programmes conducted by the traffic police in the first week of January this year.