A few days after a bus accident on the motorway killed 12 people, Motorway police has announced new measures to make sure more passenger vehicles do not meet with accidents in the Salt Range, especially near Kallar Kahar.
The main measure will be to escort buses in convoys through the 10 km patch in Kallar Kahar in the Salt Range, with police officials making sure they remain within speed limits.
The number of buses in each convoy has not been fixed and will be made as per the situation. The police will start forming convoys right before the Motorway M2 enters the Salt Range at the Public Safety Vehicle (PSV) halt point near the 232 km sign board. They will then be escorted to the end of the dangerous part of the road.
The motorway in Kallar Kahar in the Salt Range not only goes through rises and dips due to the terrain, but also has dangerous turns where speeding can lead to accidents.
In addition, police has also decided to designate special points where passenger buses will be issued time cards. Monitoring mechanisms will also be made more stringent using speed cameras and patrolling vehicles.
The motorway police said in a statement that it believes that these mesaures can bring a noticeable decrease in accidents in the area.
The statement also said that the motorway police has mechanisms in place to monitor the condition of buses and their drivers as they embark on the motorway. A PSV information management centre is operating that organises data including bus fitness, route permits, driver license, ownership documents, seating capacity, saftey mesaures and medical aid availability among others. The statement said that buses and drivers not fulfilling requirements are fined as well.
The statement also said that FM95, social media, and workshops are being used to promote road safety awareness.
A bus crash on the motorway in Kallar Kahar on Saturday had killed 12 people and injured 22 others. Videos from the incident showed that the bus was speeding at a turn in the road.
