SWABI: The traffic police here have failed to fully implement the rules and regulations as the number of underage drivers and unauthorised autorickshaws has been increasing in the district.

In a chat, people from different walks of life told this correspondent on Friday that motorcycles and autorickshaws could be seen occupying the key roads and business centres in the district headquarters here.

They said that due to negligence of the police the underage drivers felt encouraged and their number had increased manifold during the last few years.

Traffic jams could be witnessed usually in Swabi city and Topi because of wrong parking, which was not considered a violation of traffic rules by the people.

“Everybody could see the policemen walking here and there and not taking action for unknown reason,” said Ijaz Ahmad of Topi city.

The bike owners and rickshaw drivers use different tactics like passing information to each other to dodge the police for using alternative routes to avoid checking.

“We inform each other whenever the police start checking at some point,” said an underage rickshaw driver on condition of anonymity. Besides, tractor-trolleys cause traffic jams and create problems for smooth traffic flow.

The residents said that the police should not give free hand to young bikers and autorickshaw drivers. They said the motorcyclists indulging in wheeling posed a serious threat to their own and other people’s lives.

“The traffic police should take action against wheeling on the city roads,” said Ayaz Khan of Maneri Bala. He said that due to police negligence the number of youngsters indulging in wheeling had been increasing day by day.

This correspondent has often seen youngsters indulging in wheeling on Swabi-Jahangira road and Topi-Tarbela road in front of the GIK Institute.

When asked, the police officials said that the number of motorcycles, autorickshaws and other vehicles had increased significantly, but no improvement was made in the roads during the last four decades in the district. They said that they had been regularly taking action against violators of traffic rules.

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2020