The Inspector General of Police Operations in Lahore has requested the provincial IG Police and Chief Traffic Officer to increase traffic violation fines to Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 2,000 for cars and motorbikes respectively.
The current penalties for breaking traffic rules are Rs. 500 for car/jeep drivers and Rs. 200 for motorcyclists, so if the new fine rates are put into place, the traffic violation charges will increase by a hefty 2000% for cars and 1000% for bikes.
As per the suggestion letter, over 6000 violations occur daily in Lahore – which is an alarmingly high number – that causes slow traffic, accidents and other problems on the roads. Lahore is one of the biggest cities of Pakistan, and most areas of the metropolis have a high traffic flow throughout the day.
According to the police, one way to improve Lahore’s traffic is to drive up the fine rates by a whopping 1000% and 2000% for bikes and cars respectively. They think that this will cause the citizens to respect traffic laws and will eventually improve the city’s traffic condition.
Lahore Traffic Police – Recent Changes
The city already imposed a new law to fine bikers who refuse to wear helmets. Before that, the Lahore High Court directed the authorities to heavily fine and arrest parents who let their underage children drive cars. The judge took notice of increasing traffic violations and accidents on the road and directed the authorities to take stern actions to improve the city’s roads.
Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) also introduced an e-challan system for Lahore recently. The system monitors traffic flow and fines people if they violate any traffic rules. For now, the system will only fine those who don’t stop at a red light.
However, e-challans will soon be issued for other types of violations as well, and will be delivered to the violators’ address via a courier service.
