The Mangaluru City Traffic Police booked 1,372 cases against two-wheeler riders over the past week during a special drive to enhance road safety and curb helmet violations and wrong-lane riding. The drive yielded ₹6,24,500 in penalties.

A release here said as many as 1,050 cases were registered for riding without a helmet, and a penalty of ₹4,63,500 was collected. A total of 322 cases were booked for wrong side driving and a fine of ₹1.61 lakh was collected, police said.

Recently, there has been an increase in the number of deaths and serious injuries due to head injuries in accidents involving two-wheelers. Similarly, there have been incidents of head-on collisions, endangering pedestrians and creating issues for other vehicles, often resulting from wrong-side driving to save time or in disregard of traffic regulations.

The special operation was conducted to strictly enforce traffic rules and create public awareness on road safety. During the drive, special checks were carried out at major junctions, along National Highways 66, 75 and 169, on the city outskirts, and at accident-prone locations, and cases were registered.

Highway patrol

To respond quickly to road accidents on the Mangaluru-Solapur National Highway 169 (Bikarnakate - Moodbidri - Beluvai stretch) and create awareness among the public about road safety, strict implementation of traffic rules, improve emergency response and maintain law and order, an additional Highway Patrol vehicle has been deployed between Baiturli to Mijar (about 20 km) under the jurisdiction of Mangaluru City Police Commissionerate.

A Highway Patrol vehicle is already operating on the NH-169 passing through the Moodbidri police station limits. These vehicles will be on duty 24x7 within the scope of their assigned duties.