Lane discipline will be implemented on the Vyttila-Karukutty sector of the National Highway soon. The State Transport Department has given the go ahead for the project, which is part of the Vytilla-Mannuthy Accident Free zone campaign, said Dr. M. Beena, District Collector.
The left lane will be used for slow-moving vehicles and the right one for overtaking vehicles. The free ways will not be allowed to be blocked by waiting vehicles at junctions, said Manoj Abraham, City Police Commissioner.
The police hope to get the service of home guards and traffic wardens to effectively implement lane discipline. The officials will be posted at all main junctions so that they could direct the vehicles and create awareness among drivers, he said.
For the first 15 days of implementation, the violators will be let off with a warning. After that period tough measures including suspension of driving licenses and even its cancellation will be undertaken.
The implementation of lane discipline is expected to reduce accidents by around 20 per cent, Mr. Abraham said. Speed radars and cameras will be installed along the sector to keep track of the vehicle movement at a later stage. The Range IG has been asked to prepare a project report for the same, Ms. Beena said.
Speed breakers
Once the lane discipline is in place, the speed breakers placed in many parts of the National Highway would be removed, Mr. Abraham said. While admitting that the speed breakers were “unscientific and sometimes irritating,” Mr. Abraham said that the department had to adopt this unscientific system to avoid deaths due to accidents. On the complaint that the speed breakers installed by the police were causing accidents as they obstructed the visibility of drivers, Mr. Abraham said that the option of using nets or mesh in place of iron sheets will be considered.
The height of some speed breakers were earlier reduced following complaints. The police will take a fresh look into the issue of speed breakers causing hardship to the drivers. All the police stations will soon have at least one breath analyser used for detecting drunken driving, he said.
Shortage
Though the programme was to recruit 400 persons, only 150 could be posted. The ex-servicemen are recruited as home guards for assisting the police in traffic management, he said. T. Vikram, SP, Rural, was also present at the press conference.
