KATHMANDU, July 17: The Metropolitan Traffic Police Division (MTPD) is all set to start a new rule in the accident-prone Jagati-Koteshwar road section under which heavy vehicles including trucks, cargo vehicles and passenger buses will have to use the left side of the road while motorcycles, cars, taxis, tourist buses, and government vehicles will have to use the right side.
MTPD is enforcing this rule in the wake of increasing fatal road accidents along the Jagati-Koteshwar section in recent weeks. “Making the public buses use the left side of the road will make it convenient for them to pick and drop passengers,” spokesperson for MTPD Superintendent of Police (SP) Surendra Prasad Mainali said.
Mainali said when the heavy vehicles are made to use the same lane as public buses, there is no possibility of overtaking and this will automatically limit the speed of the heavy vehicles and help reduce accidents. Traffic officials expect that the enforcement of new rule will also help reduce traffic jam caused by lane violations.
Construction of six-lane road still incomplete, six years on
The MPTD plans to enforce the rule on a trial basis for 15 days starting Tuesday. During the first 15 days, those who violate the rules will just be cautioned. “After that however, the violators may have to pay up to Rs 1500 as fine,” he said. Traffic police personnel will strictly monitor the road section to ensure that the rules are being observed.
Time cards from Tuesday
From Tuesday, MTPD is also planning to introduce a time card system for cargo vehicles operating on the Jagati-Koteshwar road.
Time card system is being introduced to prevent overspeeding by heavy vehicles.
“Cargo vehicles like trucks and tippers will have to maintain a speed limit of 40 kilometers per hour on the six-lane road from Jagati to Koteshwar,” spokesman for the Bhaktapur chapter of MTPD Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Rewati Raman Pokharel said.
According to MTPD, time card booths have been set up at Koteshwar, Thimi and Jagati and a timeframe of 3.5 minutes will be allocated for each vehicle to travel from one station to another.
