Srinagar, Sep 23: Notwithstanding the claims of Traffic Police that a drive has been started to check “visible offences” in driving down the City roads, the men-in-blue seem to have developed blind spot on the movement of tippers, which drive recklessly that too without number plates.
 The tippers –often accused of over-speeding and reckless driving–continue to ply without number plates raising question marks on the credibility of the Transport Department and the police, alike.
 Over the years movement of tippers without number plates, as per complainants, has become so common that scores of new tippers, which have been given fitness certificates in the recent past by the Regional Transport Officer don’t bear number plate, particularly on the rear.
 This means that in case of any accident, something not so rear on the City roads, the tipper drivers could manage to escape scott free because of not bearing a number plate and the case may die as being unsolved hit-and-run incidents. And the same has remained true for several deadly accidents.

THE REAR INTRIGUE
 The tipper drivers have seemingly intrigued that the load carries should not bear a number plate at least on the rear. Many tipper owners admitted that not bearing number plates on the rear provides them an “opportunity to run away scot-free in case of mishaps.”
 And this “deadly conspiracy” looks to be benefiting the offenders as many accidents including deaths by speeding tippers remained unsolved mysteries.
 “How will one be able to ascertain whereabouts of a speeding tipper when it doesn’t bear a number plate on the rear?” asked Muhammad Suhail a lawyer adding that such offenders be “heavily penalized”.

THE GROWING TREND
 The intrigue of not bearing number on the rear seems to be going viral. While old tippers have washed away the number plates, most of the new ones don’t bear it at all. Some, however, have painted the number plates on the sides.
 This again raises a simple query. How could the vehicle be identified if it runs in case of an accident and why didn’t the Transport Department look into this facet at the time of issuing registration certificates.
 On the other hand the tippers don’t adhere to any standards of number display by way of position, font and colour of the number plates, though the same is mandatory.

DARK DRIVING
 The tippers and other road carriers mostly venture into the City during the night hours when the traffic police officials allegedly leave for home. This means there’s little scope of checking the deadly offence of not bearing any number plate during the night hours that too when the “staff starved traffic police is craving for more of workforce.”
 However there are some places like the Parimpora-Athwajan bypass stretch of the City where tippers ply during daytime and could be caught red handed.

DAYTIME SLUMBER
 Moreover in violation of High Court orders tippers ply on the Airport Road, close to the Police Headquarters and office of DGP, during daytime by sneaking into the area through the Canal Road which connects the VIP road with Rawal Pora. Though the residents had appealed the DIG Traffic and the R&B Chief Engineer to get a barricade erected in the middle as onetime solution to the problem, no action was taken as tippers “continue to prowl during daytime.”

THE UNION NEXUS
 Tipper drivers, as per observers, are well connected in the corridors of power and end up staging protests the moment they are caught for any offence.
 “In a bid to hide their offence they end up levelling allegations against us that we had asked for bribe,” said a lower rung traffic police official.
 He said no drive against “deadly tippers can be successful unless corridors of power give up pleading their cases.

THE POLICE ACTION
 Some two months back, DIG Traffic Shafqat Watali had directed the tipper unions to set right their number plates before a “heavy penalty drive would be initiated”. The transporters are believed to have been given a fortnight deadline. But till now tippers continue to ply without number plates on the rear. The Traffic Police claimed that a drive would soon be started to get rid of the menace.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 23 Sep 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 23 Sep 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 24 Sep 2012 00:00:00 IST