Police begin 24-hour patrol of accident-prone roads

Police have started 24-hour patrols on roads in Greater Male Area that are prone to traffic accidents.

There have been a number of dangerous accidents in Male and suburbs recently. Two youths were killed in two accidents on Thursday night and Friday night.

Police commissioner Ali Shujau said police have started patrolling the roads where such accidents occur most frequently since Saturday night to reduce dangerous accidents.

"We will do everything we can to ensure the safety of the people. We will try to reduce accidents by having police 24 hours a day," he said.

Although the fatal accident occurred on Thursday night, the commissioner said most of the accidents have occurred on the bridge highway or some roads in Hulhumale. Therefore, police will now be on duty 24 hours a day, he said.

The roads with the highest number of accidents are:

According to Shujau, the most dangerous accidents have been happening in the second phase of Hulhumale. Unlike Male and the first phase of Hulhumale, the second phase roads are not equipped with cameras, which is an added encouragement for speeding drivers, he said.

The HDC has decided to install cameras on the roads of the second phase of Hulhumale. The commissioner believes that the police will be able to identify speeding vehicles and take action against them.

"We used to have police [on the streets]. But that's during the opening and closing hours of schools and offices. Now the streets that are marked will have police 24 hours a day," he said.

The commissioner said that during the weekends, high speed or noisy vehicles have increased in Male and Hulhumale. To control it, vehicle check points are set up on highways and roads every weekend.

The commissioner said the police are very concerned about the increase in dangerous accidents and the irreparable damage to families.