Are we worth just Rs100,000?

FOUR accidents in as many days, three on the Indus Highway in Sindh and the fourth on the National Highway near Multan, constitute a source of anxiety for all travellers. More than 60 lives have been lost either due to recklessness or human error that could have been avoided.

No one is saying that accidents do not happen. But the way we try to deal with them is deplorable. After every accident, the government announces compensation of Rs100,000 or so for every dead person. This is a cruel joke on the families, and nothing is done to prosecute those found responsible.

Pakistan is fifth in the list of countries with the highest rate of traffic accident fatalities. There are nations poorer than us, with fewer resources and prone to greater violence. If they can manage to reduce road deaths, what prevents us from saving the lives of our own travellers? The Ghotki rail accident caused the death of hundreds of people, and was followed by a public outcry. But except for the transfer of a few officers, a practice reminiscent of the colonial era, no corrective measures are visible. Had this been a democratic country, the railways minister would at least have resigned in deference to public opinion. If there was a technical fault, has it been removed? Or, if a mere human error was involved, have any measures been proposed to minimize it? In any case, the government seems to think that Rs100,000 is a price enough to compensate for the loss of human life.

In the case of the recent highway accidents, involving buses, one factor was common: overtaking. Pakistan is one of the most heavily legislated countries in the world where every kind of wrongdoing is covered. But the laws never get implemented. The driver of a vehicle can be prosecuted for holding an unlit cigarette in his mouth, but overtaking, and that too on highways, cannot be checked.

There are other factors involved –- the fitness of vehicles, the psychological and physical condition of the drivers, ignorance of law, and reckless driving. We know how the licensing system works with the collaboration of the police and the way rules are bent. If we think that our roads and highways belong to certain truck and bus owners, then let them sit in the assemblies and do away with the laws we are supposed to observe. If the driver of a scooter or motorcycle can be prosecuted for not wearing a helmet, why are reckless drivers allowed to play with the lives of commuters?

We have had enough of lawlessness of this kind and it must come to an end. We have laws, rules and regulations to control the death dance on the roads and highways. A solution does not involve money. The problem simply has to be addressed with honesty and a strong will. The solution does not lie in Rs100,000, but in realizing that each life is worth saving.