Authorities crack whip on erring tipper drivers

Srinagar, July 10: Traffic Police has tightened the noose around tipper drivers for violation of traffic rules including overspeeding and plying without number plates.

Acting on complaints, Traffic Police launched a drive against erring tipper drivers who violate traffic rules.

“Crackdown on tippers plying without number plates was conducted today. This was done in response to multiple complaints regarding the illegal operation of tippers in Srinagar city. The operation took place at various locations throughout the city, resulting in the seizure of several tippers plying without number plates,” DySP Traffic (City) Mehboob ul Haq told Greater Kashmir.

“We seized 10 tippers for violation of traffic rules. The drive will continue during from evening to morning to ensure tipper drivers strictly adhere to traffic rules and especially don’t resort to overspeeding,” Haq added.

Earlier, SSP Traffic Police Srinagar Muzaffar Ahmad Shah said that they will intensify the drive against tipper drivers who resort to overspeeding and drive without number plates.

To mention in a story ‘Speeding tippers endanger commuters in Srinagar’ on Wednesday, Greater Kashmir highlighted how these overspeeding tippers move along roads in Downtown, Sonwar, Dalgate, and City centre areas of Srinagar without any check endangering lives of commuters.

“This has become a major safety concern during late hours. We have been highlighting the issue for a long time, and we hope that more action will be taken against erring drivers. We hope that this drive will also help to prevent ferrying of construction material in prohibited zones and discourage illegal constructions,” Abdul Hamid, a commuter said.

Over the past few months, many videos of tippers and mini-tippers surfaced on social media. In one such video a mini-tipper was seen doing stunts on the roads. Later Traffic police took action against the accused driver.

There have been several cases of accidents by tipper drivers in which drivers, commuters, and pedestrians lost their lives.

Last year, a traffic cop among two was killed in a Srinagar road accident after a speeding truck hit them. Earlier this year, another tipper plunged into Dal Lake when it lost control. The incident led to the death of the driver. As per the data from traffic police, pedestrian deaths in Srinagar constituted over 48 percent of total road accident deaths in 2023. Many pedestrians have fallen prey to accidents by speeding tippers and trucks over the years.