Kurdish traffic police recognize drivers with clean driving records after over 20 years on the road
Traffic police in the autonomous Kurdistan Region recently recognized more than ten local drivers for their outstanding driving record, noting the recipients had committed no violations over the past two decades.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Traffic police in the autonomous Kurdistan Region recently recognized more than ten local drivers for their outstanding driving record, noting the recipients had committed no violations over the past two decades.
The move aims to acknowledge their compliance with traffic instructions in the region, Rashid Ali, a police officer from the Pishdar district in the province of Sulaimani, told Kurdistan 24 on Monday. It is also to encourage others to follow their example.
“We believe that penalizing drivers for their traffic violations is not enough to have them be committed to the rules and regulations. So we will also honor and recognize those who have committed no violations over the past 20 years,” Ali explained.
“We hope this will encourage others, especially youths, to follow the rules and instructions of the traffic police, which are in place to protect lives.”
Over the past few years, police have installed cameras across cities and towns in the Kurdistan Region to catch drivers who are speeding and driving recklessly. The cameras force drivers to slow down as authorities attempt to reduce the number of traffic accidents.
Mahmoud Rasul is one of the drivers who has been recognized for a clean driving record of 36 years.
“I choose less traveled roads to safely reach my destinations and return home alive,” Rasul told Kurdistan 24 while standing next to his white Toyota Hilux.
He received his license in 1983, when very few people could actually pass the demanding driving test of the time, Rasul said.
“Since I got my driver’s license, I have never received a ticket, not even a speeding ticket… I follow the speed limit for each road and avoid parking the car where it is forbidden.”
Annually, thousands of people in the Kurdistan Region lose their lives or get injured in traffic incidents.
In the first six months of this year, 144 traffic accidents have taken place in the Raparin area, which the Pishdar district is located. Fifteen people have lost their lives in those reported incidents and 159 more were wounded, according to the Raparin traffic police directorate.
Most car accidents are in the result of drivers failing to abide by the rules of the road, the directorate added.
Editing by Nadia Riva
(Reporting by Aras Amin)
