By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Overtaking by errant drivers is believed to be the most common cause behind traffic jams in the city as well as on the highways and the Shillong Traffic Police (STP) now has decided not to ‘spare the rod’ anymore against anyone involved in overtaking.
The Traffic police has decided to issue on the spot summon slips to vehicles which overtake during traffic jams.
Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Superintendent of police (City) M Kharkrang said, “If the driver of the overtaking vehicles fail to appear before us following the summon slip, we will forward their names to the court for further action.”
“An analysis of the recent traffic jams indicates that jams could have been cleared by traffic police within a reasonable time but because of overtaking by errant drivers the congestion takes hours to clear,” Kharkrang added.
The STP has issued an appeal asking people not to overtake for the best interest of the lakhs of commuters who travel on the roads everyday.
The STP also asserted that people must immediately call the Police Control room telephone (0364-2222277) in case of any traffic jams that occurs due to accidents or break down of vehicles.
The traffic situation in the city as well as the highways has gone beyond the limit and traffic snarls have become part and parcel of the city life today.
Kharkrang also informed that the STP was dealing strictly with truck drivers and even penalizing them with hefty fines.
The STP has also decided to act strictly against the workshops and repair shops set up along the highway, especially on the Mawlai-Mawiong stretch, if they are found to violate rules and park the vehicles along the highway, which sometimes leads to traffic snarls.
Kharkrang informed that the traffic police would soon come up with some new traffic rules to ease congestion in Mawlai Mawdatbaki and Phudmuri areas.
“Our officers and personnel are trying to regulate traffic in the best possible manner,” the SP said while talking to media persons here.
The STP currently has a strength of around 220 constables and the STP has recently forwarded a proposal for creation of three more traffic branches in Rynjah, Mawlai and Laban to ease the congestion. Almost 150 traffic constables are slated to be appointed to man the three traffic branches.
Meanwhile, it is expected that the traffic situation would further worsen in February when schools and colleges would reopen after the winter break.
The ever-increasing number of vehicles in the city has also compounded the problem. As per statistics collected from the Transport department, the number of registered vehicles in East Khasi Hills district alone was 88369, as of September 2011.