Fact-check: Yes, Lahore traffic cops collected Rs1.5b in fines in 2022
The traffic police in Lahore collected Rs1.5 billion in penalties for traffic violations in 2022. In January this year alone, it made Rs200 million
Updated Tuesday Feb 14 2023
A Twitter user has alleged that the traffic police in Lahore, Punjab, collected a mammoth Rs1.5 billion in penalties from traffic violations in 2022.
The claim is true.
Claim
“According to a report, in just one month at the beginning of the new year, the traffic police of Lahore issued 479,000 challans and collected Rs200 million from citizens,” the user wrote on Twitter on February 7, “While last year in 2022, Rs1.5 billion were collected.”
The tweet has been viewed over 13,000 times on the microblogging website, to date.
Fact
The statement is accurate.
The traffic police in Punjab’s capital Lahore did collect Rs1.5 billion in stipulated penalties for traffic violations last year. While this year in January alone, it made Rs200 million.
“The news is correct,” Mustansar Feroze, the chief traffic officer in Lahore, told Geo Fact Check over the phone.
As per the document shared by Feroze, the traffic police Lahore issued 37,416,34 tickets in 2022, against which Rs1.5 billion was collected.
Most tickets were issued to citizens for riding a motorbike without a helmet.
Meanwhile, from January 1 to February 8, there were a total of 610,320 penalties, of which, again, the majority were for not wearing a protective helmet. From these fines, a total of Rs200 million was collected by the traffic cops.
The chief traffic officer added that there are 3,373 traffic wardens in Lahore at the moment.
“The police had decided [last year] on its own that one traffic police officer will issue at least 15-20 tickets per day,” he added, “The more tickets that are issued the more efficient the officer will be considered.”
However, Feroze explained that the traffic wardens do not get any cut or commission from the penalties.
Rana Arif, the public relations officer of the traffic police, also confirmed to Geo Fact Check that the entire amount collected from traffic fines goes into the treasury of the Government of Punjab, not into the pockets of the cops.
In November, the Lahore High Court ordered the traffic police to up the fines to ensure better road safety. Now motorists in Lahore are charged Rs2,000 for driving without a license and for violating the one-way rule.
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