TAXILA: The inter-city and inter-district roads in Taxila have become “death traps” as there has been a marked increase in fatal accidents during the last six months.

According to the data obtained from the district police, there has been a 75 per cent increase in fatal incidents while the National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP) showed an increase of 50 per cent in their jurisdiction.

As many as 21 fatal incidents were reported from January to June this year compared to 12 during the corresponding period last year.

The NHMP recorded 12 fatal accidents, in which 12 people were killed, in its jurisdiction, especially on G.T. Road, between January and June compared to eight in 2013.

Sources in the police said most of the fatal and non-fatal accidents were not registered as both the victims and the accused parties decided not to register cases.

It has also been observed that speeding, poor road engineering and violation of traffic rules have become common on the roads. There are a sufficient number of dumpers in the city which also cause accidents.

According to the data of the local police and the NHMP, in most of the fatal incidents dumpers were involved which claimed many lives.

The dumper drivers, mostly Afghan nationals, are uneducated and it is not known if they have driving licences. It has also been learnt that most of the dumper drivers are drug addicts and under the influence of charas resort to rush and haphazard driving.

Besides, traffic authorities have also failed to ensure the implementation of rules and regulations on the roads.

Due to the absence of monitoring by the government officials, owners do not properly maintain their vehicles.

The drivers also do not follow traffic rules most of the time. Speeding, overtaking on narrow roads and violation of other traffic rules has become common.

There are a large number of taxis in the city which are driven by young boys who have no driving sense or knowledge of the traffic system.

One can see several vehicles with their headlights and indicators not functioning properly.

Some drivers are also seen driving with their headlights on high beam at night, endangering the lives of people travelling with them as well as those coming from the opposite direction.

Asim Meer, who is running an NGO to monitor different aspects of road accidents, said: “The trend of underage driving is alarming and there is a dire need to regulate licensing.”

Such an initiative, he said, was the only practical solution to minimise the risks posed by underage riding as parents often have no knowledge of what their children were actually doing on the road and the youth involved in such activities seemed to have a defiant attitude.”

The road traffic accident rate is frightening, the number of vehicles is increasing and the roads are becoming narrow due to encroachments and heavy traffic, he added.

He said the Word Health Organisation (WHO)’s most recent global burden of disease study reported road traffic accidents as one of the fastest-growing “epidemics” in the south-east Asian region.

Most of the world's road fatalities occur in low-and middle-income countries, which have fewer registered vehicles, according to the WHO.

The DSP Taxila circle Malik Mohammad Irshad said the police nabbed dozens of youth daily while doing wheelie and making stunts on various roads especially on Mall Road. He said with community participation, such incidents could not be checked.

When contacted, local chief of NHMP DSP Iftikhar said his force kept the record of only those incidents which were fatal. He said that most of the fatal incidents involved young motorcyclists who do not abide by traffic rules.

He added that non-usage of safety helmet and underage driving were other main reasons of such incidents.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd , 2014