In a bid to enforce traffic discipline and cut-down on traffic accidents on the Koteshwor-Suryabinayak road section, the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division has come up with a new rule on the use of lanes.

Under the new rule, heavy vehicles, including buses that move slow need to take the left lane, while private vehicles such as cars, jeeps, vans, and motorcycles need to keep right.

“We have strictly implemented this rule from Wednesday, and this will help decrease the number of accidents on the road,” said Jeevan Kumar Shrestha, spokesperson for the division.

Bhaktapur Chief District Officer Hum Kala Pandey and Senior Superintendent of Police, Bhim Dhakal, on Wednesday jointly inaugurated the new drive.

According to police, some 200 accidents occur every month on the 9.1km stretch of the country’s first four-lane highway.

The division office, in association with Bhaktapur District Office, has set up 13 check posts and mobilised 27 traffic personnel on the road to surveil the movement of vehicles.

Forty information boards have also been installed on the road to educate the people about the new lane use rule. “We are in the first phase, and trying to make riders and drivers habituated. Once we reach the second phase, we will take action,” said Pandey. Fines of up to Rs 1,500 are being discussed for lane violations.

“This move will surely help decrease the number of accidents, and check reckless driving,” said Dhakal. The stretch from Koteshwor to Lokanthali has become notorious for traffic jams over the past few years.

A report shows that an estimated 971,000 vehicles pass through the Koteshwor crossing every day between 8am and 6pm.

Two weeks ago, the Department of Roads and the Department of Transport Management had lobbied with the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation to be allowed to widen the road by using land belonging to the Tribhuvan International Airport.