Drunken driving, speeding and reckless overtaking have emerged as the key provocation for road rage in Ladakh. The number of cars has also risen sharply and as many as 1,500 cars are being added every year, informed Stanzin Nurbo, Additional Superintendent of Police at the inaugural of the first Road Safety Week to be held in Ladakh here today.

Khadim Hussain, Assistant Regional Transport Officer, confirmed that the number of vehicles at Leh alone had gone up from just 2,500 in 2005 to over 7,000 in 2000.

Cars stolen from elsewhere in the country are also being re-sold in Ladakh. As many as 12 stolen cars were recovered in 2011 from Leh and two of them were returned to their rightful owners, one in Delhi and another in Punjab.

During this week, the police with the help of volunteers will carry out a check of valid documents that car owners are expected to keep with them while on the road. No action, however, will be taken during the week against those found without the documents. Instead, the emphasis will be to explain to them the importance of keeping the documents.