LAHORE: A meeting of the special committee constituted by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to formulate an action plan to prevent road accidents was held at Civil Secretariat on Tuesday, says a handout.

Additional Chief Secretary Shamail Ahmad Khwaja (co-convener of the committee) presided over the meeting which went through the inquiry reports of the Chief Minister`s Inspection Team and formulated an action plan in the light of findings and recommendations.

The committee noted that rash and negligent driving, mechanical faults in the old vehicles, road geometric design issues, a lack of trafEc sense and prevailing literacy among the drivers and last not the least, fake fitness certification from other provinces play main role in causing the deadly traffic accidents.

The committee recommended an action plan including enactment of the Punjab Road Safety Authority Actwithin next two months. The chief minister has already established Punjab Road Safety Authority through an executive order. This enactment will empower the traffic police and the traffic engineering staff to modernise training, testing and licensing system besides improving road geometry designing and identification of black spots.

It also recommended that establishment of vehicles fitness and certification stations be established at the district level while Directorate of Road Safety Audit would also be established in each district headquarters. The meeting decided to address the current gaps of law in the Motor Vehicle Ordinance and a new bill titled Punjab Road Safety Authority Act will separately be introduced in the Punjab Assembly for promulgation. Both the laws will be implemented at the same time while establishment of standardised schools of motoring will also be promoted in private sector, the ACS added.