With road accidents on the rise in Punjab in the winters, Punjab Transport Minister Ajit Singh Kohar on Wednesday said the drivers of buses must hand over their mobile phones to conductors while the bus is on move.
The Minister expressed deep concern at the road accidents taking place in the state taking a toll of precious lives and requested the drivers of all vehicles to obey traffic rules in their own interests.
Kohar called for the collective efforts to be made to reduce road accidents. He issued strict instructions to the motor vehicle authorities and traffic police personnel to take strong action against the violators of traffic rules.
“Use of mobile phones while driving has been banned and drivers should always adhere to this rule. While driving the bus, drivers should handover their mobiles to the conductors so as to be able to concentrate on following the road safety rules,” he added.
Instructing PWD officials, the minister said that sign boards should be displayed for the convenience of the public, wherever the road repair work was going on , so that traffic accidents could be avoided. Besides this, Kohar also asked for the steel or concrete railings to be put up on village canals, wherever these are non-existent.
He also laid stress on
the need for an awareness campaign to guide people about the road safety rules and its compliance.