LAHORE: City police arrested 94 young bikers who resorted to wheelie during Independence Day celebrations, while dozens of others landed at different government hospitals after being injured in road accidents, most caused by reckless, zig-zag and rash driving.

As per the reports, most arrests were made after evening on Thursday when the youngsters came out on city roads, including Jail Road, The Mall, Main Boulevard of Gulberg and other main arteries to celebrate.

The policemen who were deputed on different roads took into custody the youngsters doing bike stunts and put them behind the bars.

A police official said that these youngsters also risked the safety of other road users by resorting to irresponsible behaviour in small and large groups.

Dozens injured performing bike stunts land in hospitals

He said many families who were celebrating the Independence Day on the roads requested the police to initiate action against the bike riders for rash driving.

The official record of the Rescue 1122 supported the police version as the number of road accidents recorded on Aug 14 was considerably higher than the figures gathered on routine days.

As per the official data shared by the emergency service, the rescuers responded to 1,352 road traffic crashes in all 37 districts of Punjab on Aug 12.

In these crashes, eight people died, whereas 1,600 were injured. Similarly, five people lost their lives while 1,526 were injured in the road accidents reported on Aug 13 across Punjab.

On Independence Day, the rescuers responded to 1,483 traffic accidents across Punjab.

These incidents claimed the lives of 12 people, while 1,735 others were left injured, the official said.

According to the official data reported on Friday, as many as 2,142 people were injured in road traffic accidents in Punjab, while 10 others died.

As the number of injuries reported on Friday was more than those recorded on other days, the officials said that many of these accidents had taken place late on Thursday when the city roads were crowded with youngsters celebrating Independence Day.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2025