Hyderabad, Jan 12 : Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Monday suggested that penalties imposed for traffic violations be automatically debited from the bank accounts of the violators.

He asked the traffic police to link the vehicles to the bank accounts of the owners at the time of the registration of vehicles, so that whenever a challan is issued, the money should be deducted from the bank accounts.

He said the auto-debit system should replace the present manual collection of fines. He suggested while launching the road safety campaign â??Arrive Aliveâ??.

He called for strict action against minors driving vehicles and drunken driving. While challans are being issued for violations, he pointed out that offenders are often given concessions to pay later.

The Chief Minister said that cases should be booked against parents who allow minors to drive vehicles and cause accidents.

He said that road safety must be treated as a top priority, and stressed the need to take strong measures to prevent road accidents. CM Revanth Reddy urged officials to make effective use of modern technology to regulate traffic and address traffic-related challenges.

He said that stringent enforcement measures would be taken hereafter to ensure effective traffic control.

Emphasising the importance of creating awareness on road safety among students, strengthening the traffic signal system, and carrying out a comprehensive overhaul of the transport system, the Chief Minister said that road accident prevention must become a core agenda, backed by clear procedures and, if necessary, a new law.

â??Earlier, law and order was the main concern. Today, traffic regulation has emerged as the biggest challenge. It needs to be accorded the highest priority. Special measures for road safety should be taken under the supervision of officers at the DGP and Additional DGP levels,â?? he said.

The Chief Minister stated that an MoU has been signed with Google for traffic management. He called for CCTV cameras to be integrated with the Command Control Centre and for further strengthening traffic regulation through advanced technological systems.

He observed that it is tragic that one road accident occurs every minute in the country, and one life is lost every three minutes. Both the Centre and the States are of the view that road safety awareness must begin at the student stage.

He pointed out that even when one follows rules, lives are lost due to the mistakes of others, and said that road accidents caused by traffic violations should be viewed as avoidable deaths.

The Chief Minister recalled the establishment of special systems to curb cybercrime, Counter Intelligence, EAGLE Force to curb drug abuse and HYDRAA to prevent encroachments on tanks and lakes. Similarly, he said, a dedicated system for traffic regulation should now be put in place.

He appreciated the Police Department for organising a dedicated road safety awareness programme and for preparing an action plan aimed at preventing road accidents.

The programme was attended by Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, several public representatives, Home Department Principal Secretary C.V. Anand, Director General of Police B. Shivadhar Reddy, Hyderabad City Police Commissioner V. C. Sajjanar and other senior officials.

/IANS