Tiruvallur district to enforce seat belt rule

Chennai: A few weeks after the Chennai traffic police inte­nsified the drive against those who fail to wear car seat belts in the city, police personnel in Tiruvallur di­s­trict are now looking out for traffic violators.

The drive comes in the wa­ke of a recent instructi­on by Tiruvallur collector Veera Raghava Rao. Last week, he conducted a revi­ew meeting, assessing law and order and traffic arra­ngements in the district.

“Ensure that seat belts are compulsorily worn by drivers in Tiruvallur district and be strict with drunk drivers,” the collector instructed at the meeting and also demanded that the transport and highwa­ys officials check for traffic violators, a police source said.

Places like Avadi, Thiruv­erkadu and Pattabiram are choked with traffic and the vehicle population has also grown considerably in the district. Now, the top brass want to improve the situation in these areas, sources said.

This December in Che­nnai so far, more than 5,000 people have been booked for not wearing seat belt and, soon, drivers not wea­ring seat belts in Tiru­val­lur district will also be booked, they added.

“Booking traffic violators and clearing encroachme­nts on arterial roads have to go hand-in-hand. Traffic on Poonamalee high road is turning from bad to worse. Between Madu­rav­oyal and Sriper­umb­udur, the traffic chokes and it is time for the police and other local bodies to clear encroachments,” says N. Narayanan, a cab operator in Maduravoyal.