THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The traffic awareness campaign and enforcement drive being carried out by the city police saw a larger number of motorists violating the rules. The eleven-day drive began last Thursday and over 150 persons have been booked for various violations. On Sunday alone, a total of 50 persons were booked for drink drive and talking over phone while driving.
According to City Police Commissioner P Prakash, stringent action will be taken against offenders in the coming days. The police also said the vehicles which were found to be overloaded with passengers and altered illegally will be dealt with seriously, Prakash said. He also added that the routine vehicle inspection on the offences such as riding without helmets and driving without seat belts would also be intensified.
Catching them young
The awareness classes for school, college students, autodrivers and school bus drivers will also be held in the coming days to make them aware about the hazards of rash and negligent driving. Special pamphlets will also be distributed to the motorists. The accident zones will be identified and proper markings will be made to classify the roads as special zones. More stress will be given by the traffic police at those stretches where the accident rates are quite higher. In the case of drink drive, the vehicles will be released to the owners only after subjecting the offenders to attend an awareness class. The police will also recommend the Motor Vehicles Department to cancel the driving licence of drivers found drunk. A recently conducted study by National Transport Planning and Research Centre (Natpac) had found the city has one first order black spot (Thiruvallam-Kovalam stretch) and three second order black spots (Karamana, Pappanamcode and Pattom to Plamoodu). The police are planning to reduce the number of accidents in these areas.