LAHORE: Final touches are being given to a bill that will govern the already announced road safety authority, giving it representation from all related departments like traffic police and Rescue 1122 and powers to ensure safe mobility to all road users in the province in line with international practices.

The proposed bill is likely to be tabled in the Punjab assembly for adoption in its next session, officials said on Thursday.

They said as per the draft law, the authority will hire international and local experts for conducting road safety studies, road user education, road safety audits, drivers training and licensing system, post-crash investigation, data development and vehicle fitness.The principal office of the authority will be in Lahore, and it may establish regional offices or directorates at other places in the province, if require d.

The authority will regulate and monitor the drivers training, testing and licensing regime, and vehicle inspection, certification and fitness systems.

It will enter into contracts with local and international organizations, agencies or companies for the purpose of road safety, award contracts for projects to be undertaken through public financing or through public private partnership, cause studies, collect and analyse road safety data.

It will also conduct road safety audits, collaborate with the government, a local government or any other public or private sector agency for improvement and inimplementation of road safety initiatives; develop and implement campaigns for public awareness for road safety, ensure implementation of axle load management and fitness regime and ensure post-accident care and crash investigation.

There will be a board to run the authority whose chairperson will be appointed by the chief minister.

Its members will include P&D chairman, finance, communication, and transport secretaries, AIG traffic, Punjab Information Technology Board chairman, Rescue 1122 director general, TEPA chief engineer, four public representatives, including two women to be nominated by the chief minister, and three eminent academics and transport experts.

The board shall constitute one or more directorates to deal with drivers training, testing andlicensing,road infrastructure, safety audit, vehicle fitness and certification, public education and communication, research, development and database management, corporate services including those related to legal, administrative and financial matters, information technology and contract management.

The authority will recruit its own staff but the government will also, if required, send its own human resource to it. The transferred staff may avail the facility of getting absorbed into the authority.

The authority will have powers to inspect any place , record, vehicle, stand, station and workshop, conduct survey and investigation, associate and examine any person for finding of facts, mark boundaries and lines by placing markers in the prescribed manner to preserve a scene of accident.