ANANTNAG, JANUARY 12: As part of Road Safety Week, Motor Vehicle Department Anantnag and Traffic department today held an interactive programme on use of helmets and seat belts at various places of the district.

Speaking on the occasion, Assistant Regional Transport Officer (ARTO) Anantnag, Dr Mohammad Zubair Lattoo said that as per a recent report shared by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), a total of 16,397 persons were killed in road accidents in 2021 due to not wearing a seat belt, of which 8,438 were drivers and the remaining 7,959 were passengers.

Further, he said a total of 46,593 persons were killed in road accidents due to not wearing helmets, of which 32,877 were drivers and 13,716 were passengers. These figures are eye-opener for the people of Jammu and Kashmir especially our district, he added.

He said that a drive without a helmet and a seat belt is unsafe and gave a call to the students and youth to use helmets and the seat belts as protective gear.

DySP Traffic Rural (Anantnag), Dr Idrees stated that the citizens have to be aware of Road Safety measures and be responsible while driving. He said that the campaign will run for 7 days from January 11 to January 17 after which action will be taken against violators.

During these 7 days, all traffic units have been asked to create awareness among drivers about installing seat belts for all seats in a vehicle. The drive has been launched to avoid any confusion between the traffic police and the drivers on the road. (info)