DMP Commissioner: We will now go after drivers on their phones

In a bid to check the violation of traffic rules and cut road fatalities, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) is going to take a hard line on those who use earbuds or headphones, or talk on the phone while driving. Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday, DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia said: “Using headphones or talking on the phone while driving is one of the major causes of traffic accidents. We are collecting footage and photos of such drivers, filing lawsuits against them and trying to find them out. “This drive will continue for a week. The next drive would be against jaywalkers.” DMP launched a drive against the breaching of traffic laws one year ago, when driving on the wrong side of road was rampant, said Asaduzzaman. “Now, we are gradually moving forward with our drives against the practices of riding a motorbike by three people, driving without valid licence, riding motorbikes without helmets, and using hydraulic horns and stickers on vehicles revealing professional identities” he said, claiming a significant success in the drives against the violation of traffic rules. “If you follow rules abroad, then why don’t you do so here?” he asked errant drivers. Asaduzzaman said: “We want a modern Bangladesh by 2041. For this, complying with rules and regulations is a must. Our prime minister, home minister, and road transport and bridges minister categorically advised we strictly enforce the law. “How many vehicles were seized or how many cases filed against errant drivers is not an important question. What is more important is complying with the traffic law.” The DMP chief urged the people to come forward and help get rid of the culture of non-compliance.

Actions against ‘wrong side driving’

As part of their drives, traffic police have been going stricter since Sunday against the practice of “wrong side driving.” DMP lodged some 116,026 cases in 12 months from July last year for driving on the wrong side. The number of lawsuits for the same offence in the last six months was 54,651. The figure stood at 930 between Monday and Tuesday. The practice is common among government high-ups including secretaries and officials of the armed forces and police, said traffic police. Traffic police on Tuesday intercepted a car of an additional deputy inspector general of police and fined its driver Tk400 for plying the wrong side of a road at Bijoy Sarani intersection, said Traffic Police Senior Assistant Commissioner Shahidul Islam. The names of the additional DIG and his chauffer could not be known, as the latter declined to disclose them. The driver of Rural Development and Cooperatives Division’s Acting Secretary Mafruha Sultana was caught red-handed driving Mafruha’s vehicle on the wrong side in two consecutive days. He was relieved of his duty on Tuesday.