Motorists at Mundikkalthazham Junction in Kozhikode city were in for a surprise interruption on Monday morning. Transport Minister A.K. Saseendran and District Police Chief (Kozhikode City) A.V. George waved some of them down and greeted them with a smile. Then the duo went on to educate them on road safety.
The Minister inspected whether two-wheeler riders were wearing helmets and car drivers had fastened their seat belts. Mr. Saseendran said the government was planning to reduce road accidents by creating awareness, taking up inspections and punishing the guilty. Various departments have been roped in for the plan.
Other drives
Similar awareness sessions on illegal parking will be held between August 8 and 10, on speeding between August 11 and 13, drunk driving and line traffic between August 14 and 16, mobile phone usage during driving between August 17 and 19, zebra crossing and red signal jumping between August 20 and 23, overload and speed governors between August 24 and 27, and on cooling films and playing music in contract carriages between August 28 and 31.
Kozhikode Collector S. Samba Siva Rao said that 61 enforcement squads would check rule violations. Traffic rule violators would be asked to attend training classes. There would be three centres in Kozhikode district where three hours of classroom sessions and three hours of practical sessions would be held.