LAHORE: Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Muntazir Mehdi has recommended a hefty increase of 900pc in the fine on traffic violations in view of inflation and in an attempt to ensure a smooth flow of traffic on roads.

In a letter to the head of Traffic Police Punjab, he recommended revising the penalties/fines against the violations by amending the Twelfth Schedule of the Punjab Provincial Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1965.

The CTO said a motorcyclist should be fined Rs2,000 instead of Rs200 while a car rider should be fined Rs5,000 instead of Rs500 for driving without license, using tinted glass or wrong number plates, doing wrong parking and driving ‘applied-for’ vehicles etc.

Mr Mehdi recommended hefty penalties for traffic violations, stating that the current rate of fines for traffic violations was very low and argued that imposing fines of Rs200 or Rs500 was not creating any deterrence. He recommended that motorcyclists should be fined at least Rs2,000 and car riders at least Rs5,000.

He was of the view that increasing traffic fines will discourage violators and traffic jams would be controllable while adding the disruptive traffic, jams and accidents were on the rise due to continued traffic violations.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2022