NWFP Traffic Police on Thursday started issuance of the computerised, centralised and internationally acceptable driving licenses to drivers.
"The initiative launched as a pilot project for the provincial metropolis would be later extended to all 24 districts of the province," announced Imtiaz Altaf, Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Traffic while addressing a news conference here at Traffic Police Headquarters on Friday.
The computerisation of the system, he said, would help control the issuance of fake driving licenses. He said that the new licenses would issue and cancelled on the pattern of international norms and system.
In the new international standard computerised licenses beside fine in cash, the violations of traffic rules and mistakes of the drivers would also be recorded on a RF (Radio Frequency) chip fixed in the card of the driver concerned. According to the recording of the chip the driving licenses of such drivers would be cancelled after crossing over a certain level of points on the basis of his driving performance.
Similarly, in the new driving licensing system, the drivers have been made accountable, which would help in bringing positive change in the behaviour of drivers and they would take care in driving particularly commercial vehicles.
After the extension of the project to other districts a central database would also created, after which a driving license cancelled in one districts would be declared cancelled in all districts of the province.
In next phase, the traffic police of NWFP are likely to take the proposal at the level of federal government and create a database of other provinces and then establish a national base database of the driving licenses in the country. The national database would be established with financial assistance of the government of Japan.
Director, Information Technology and Science and Technology (IT&ST), Saif-ur-Rehman Usmani termed the project a landmark and step for facilitation and promotion of transparency among the people of the province. He said that now the violation of the traffic rules would be noted and stored in the chip of the license holders.