National Highways and Motorway Police (NH&MP) Inspector General (IG) Wajid Ali Durrani on Tuesday asked the DIG Motorways and other senior officers to take steps to reduce the chances of accidents and ensure security of commuters during foggy weather. He gave the directives during a briefing arranged by the DIG Motorways. He said heavy duty and public transport vehicles owners should be asked to ensure for installation of fog lights, failing which they would not be allowed to use motorways, adding that special measures must be taken during foggy weather to avoid accidents. He said awareness regarding measuring the level of fog would be started in print and electronic media, adding that it was a responsibility of NH&MP to provide a safe environment to the public on highways and motorways.
During the briefing, DIG Motorways Dr Muhammad Shafiq said the total length of motorways was 556 km, with 15 service areas and 28 interchanges. He said the emergency call booths on M-1 from Burhan to Peshawar had not been installed by the National Highway Authority (NHA). The IG took a serious notice of the issue and ordered to discuss the matter with the NHA. The IG also said the NHA should be asked to enhance mobile workshops on motorways as the volume of traffic had increased when compared with the past. He advised the people not to travel during foggy weather from 2200 hrs to 1000 hrs and appealed them to follow all the required safety measures during the foggy season.
