Lahore traffic police have announced tougher measures to prevent road accidents, including suspending a vehicle’s route permit alongside the driver’s licence whenever a driver is responsible for a fatal crash. Chief Traffic Officer Lahore Abdul Rahim Sherazi set out the new approach as part of a wider crackdown on dangerous driving, and the figures he cited show why the authorities are acting: heavy and commercial vehicles make up only four percent of total traffic in the city, yet they are involved in forty-four percent of road accidents.
So far this year, the authorities have suspended the licences of one hundred and seventeen drivers involved in accidents, and they have written to the relevant bodies to suspend the route permits of ninety-seven public service vehicles. Under the new measures, officials will suspend a driver’s licence after every fatal or serious non-fatal accident, subject to court orders, and suspending the vehicle’s route permit will stop other drivers from operating the same vehicle. Drivers responsible for fatal accidents will also face legal action.
The penalties for driving while suspended are equally strict. Drivers caught behind the wheel despite a suspended licence will face cases against them, while licences suspended for reckless driving may remain suspended for between six months and three years. The traffic police will also suspend the licences of drivers whose vehicles contribute to smog, as part of what the chief traffic officer described as a zero-tolerance policy towards irresponsible driving.
The logic of suspending both licence and route permit is that it removes both the driver and the vehicle from the road, rather than leaving one half of the problem in place. If the measures are applied consistently, they should act as a deterrent to the small share of traffic that causes a disproportionate share of crashes, and they send a clear message that a fatal accident will have immediate and lasting consequences for a driver’s livelihood.
