KARACHI, April 1: The Traffic police, accelerating its campaign against the reckless drivers of public transport, arrested 1,154 drivers only in March for negligent driving under section 279 of the PPC.

So far, 2,118 drivers have been booked under section 279, since the campaign began on January 8, the traffic police statistics shows.

The traffic police arrested 730 drivers in January and 232 in February under the same section. Besides, the police also arrested 1,312 drivers of public transport under section 99 of the Motor Vehicle Ordinance during Jan-March.

A senior police official said the arrests of the drivers of public transport spread a wave of resentment among the transport operators, who demanded an end to police action under section 279. The transporters demanded that the action should be under section 99 of MVO.

The section 279 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) reads: ”Whoever drives any vehicle, or rides, on any public way in a manner so rash or negligent as to endanger human life, or to be likely to cause hurt or injury to any other person, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.”

The police official said a driver was in trouble if he was booked in section 279 instead of the section 99 of MVO. The transport operators had made a hue and cry in January, when 730 drivers were booked. The police had to soften the intensity of the campaign by arresting 232 drivers for reckless driving as there was an apprehension of law and order.

However, the police had accelerated its campaign in March and arrested 1,154 drivers for negligent driving, which confounded the transport operators and they included the withdrawal of the action in their demands and observed a strike. They also warned the government, if their demands were not met, an indefinite strike would be called.

The police statistics shows that the police issued 138,051 tickets and Rs20,364,050 fine was imposed of which Rs16,804,500 has been realized. The month of March witnessed a record imposition of fine, which was Rs12,333,050 of which Rs9,091,800 has been realized.

During the past three months, the traffic police fined 10,157 drivers for reckless driving, and 11,297 for making the men sit in ladies compartments. Police seized 1,314 pressure horns, 1,254 tape recorders and suspended the fitness certificates of 2,713 public transport vehicles. The traffic police also fined 1,878 drivers for driving under 18-year-old and 2,633 for having tinted glasses in their vehicles.

During the month of May-December 2001, after introduction of ticket system, the traffic police issued 315,879 tickets imposing a total fine of Rs37,586,600 of which Rs33,225,850 was realized. The police arrested 737 drivers under section 99 of MVO and none of them was arrested under section 279, as the traffic police started netting the reckless drivers in this section since Jan 8.