May 29, 2003

Traffic in Karachi is a mess and needs to be paid urgent, focused attention, writes Neda Mulji

On the strip of road outside the main gates of Karachi’s Empress Market, a Suzuki Khyber is stuck in a traffic jam for 45 minutes. The stream of minibuses up ahead do not show signs of any movement. The Khyber driver manouevres to the extreme left in the hope of steering his way along the path occupied by encroachers. He manages to cover just a small patch of the road until he is stuck again, this time because of a woman spread-eagled on the tarmac relishing a meal from a tin plate. She is adamant to eat in her chosen spot and is unmoved even by the threat of two car wheels and a bonnet jerking their way towards her exposed knees. The driver of the car doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry; such is the traffic delirium Karachiites face en route to work everyday.

On main Khayaban-i-Tauheed, a traffic cop chases after a minibus whose driver has just cut through a red signal; at the same instant he turns to see a cyclist merrily riding on his two wheels, on the wrong side of the road, with a bunch of bananas hanging from his mouth. When the light turns green, the honking of cars rises to a maddening crescendo because a woman is holding up the traffic. She’s busy filling her water gourd from the taps of a water-tanker at the signal, and expects the queue to wait cordially, if not patiently, until she has completed her daily chore. The traffic cop scratches his head helplessly; he is needed in three places simultaneously, and this is just the start of his evening duty.

To top it all off, the layout of roads in Karachi is haphazard at best. While most of us learn to negotiate our way through minibuses posing as race-cars and ‘flying’ motorbikes, we run into open manholes and broken roads that challenge the strongest shock absorbers. The construction and maintenance of roads in the city has not managed to keep pace with its growing traffic. And with finance houses increasingly leasing out cars at cut-throat rates, the future of road traffic in Karachi looks far from bright.

Many optimistic Karachiites feel that the traffic problems can be improved drastically with a general change in the citizens’ attitude. “The roads pulsate with the impatience, intolerance and rage of drivers,” says Farah Khan, “We honk incessantly, change lanes abruptly and do everything possible to avoid applying brakes. It’s as if we feel we won’t be able to move ahead if we stop for two minutes.” Farah’s strong statement has a grain of truth; most people have considerable distances to cover, and fear that they’ll lose too much time on the road.

A very common sight is intolerant drivers who roll down their windows and hurtle furious profanity at each other, resulting in a verbal volley that inevitably results in more rage as traffic queues up behind them. “It seems to me that there’s no such thing as enjoying a leisurely drive in Karachi, unless you choose to do so at unearthly hours when the city is asleep,” observes Mohammad Ali Mankani, a middle-aged businessman who finds himself incapable of keeping up with the frenzied traffic.

Worse still is the unbearable noise pollution. “The noise of rickshaws coupled with horrendous minibus horns increases the frustration level of drivers and aggravates road rage,” says Sadaf Asim, a 46 year-old mother of three, who has spent more than 15 years doing pick-and-drop duties for her school-going children. “It’s impossible to keep within a reasonable speed limit with cars honking and signalling for you to speed up,” says Sadaf. “And there’s no point in pasting ‘baby on board’ stickers on one’s car because they are usually ignored.”

Most drivers are largely desensitized even to the presence of an ambulance or fire brigade. Many of us have experienced moments where we have slowed down and inched towards the left lane upon hearing an ambulance alarm, only to find that a minibus was using the alarm as its horn. It becomes a case of ‘crying wolf’ and drivers are wary of succumbing to strategies used by buses to maneauver their way out of tight spots.

A failure to organize vehicles into systematic lanes has earned the traffic police a reputation of being incompetent and apathetic. However, any attempt on their part to hold a driver responsible for breaking traffic rules is met with blatant civil disobedience. “We signal to them to stop, but hardly anyone pays heed; they drive right past us,” says Raja Mohammad Arif, a Section Officer with the Capital City Police.

One wonders if the city’s traffic problems are exacerbated due to a lack of accountability or lack of awareness on the part of drivers. “Most drivers have the rudimentary education to discriminate between what is acceptable out on the roads, and what constitutes as breaking rules,” says Tehmina Qadir, a driving school instructor. “For example, whoever is equipped to drive would be aware of the necessity of observing traffic lights and giving an indicator before switching lanes. Most people drive carelessly, not because of a lack of awareness but because of a lack of emphasis on traffic rules,” she says.

Recently, the Capital City Police have made some effort at educating citizens on road rules, in a bid to combat the widespread apathy. Yameen Khan, DIG South, initiated a week-long Road Safety Campaign in his jurisdiction. The aims of the campaign were to organize traffic into systematic lanes, with buses and motor cycles keeping to the left, discourage drivers from overstepping the ‘stop line’ at signals, ensure a safe distance between cars, emphasise on the use of indicators etc. Instructions were repeated on a speaker system and banners were put up in high-visibility points at roundabouts.

Raja Mohammad Arif, a Section Officer, claims that the campaign “contributed greatly in ensuring accountability” because rule-breakers stopped for a challan could no longer feign ignorance of the rules. While the effectiveness of the campaign is debatable, it represents the willingness of the police force to accept responsibility to contain the traffic mania at some level. “We can’t play an effective role without the cooperation of the citizens,” says Mohammad Arif. “Very often (when we signal for the drivers to stop), they drive right past us and if we don’t have our vehicles on stand-by we can’t follow them.”

It’s true that people have gradually learnt to take advantage of the police officers’ lack of resources, but most drivers who are hauled up manage to weasel out of a tight spot by greasing the concerned officer’s palm. At times, even fatal accidents go unreported as the responsible driver escapes from the scene of the crime, leaving the victim at the hands of some compassionate passers-by. It is rather unfortunate that we don’t have follow-up systems which can track down the party responsible for a casualty.

“Once I stopped to help a woman who had been hit by a car,” recalls Aliya Chaudhury, “The guilty driver sped away, but a passer-by had managed to note down his car registration number. The policeman who appeared on the scene, however, was not interested in calling for an ambulance, or taking down the details. He kept looking for the woman’s missing slippers.” The irony of our system is obvious (a serious mishap elicits a ludicrous reaction from officers who would normally be expected to perform a support function. It is no wonder, then, that our traffic control officers are no longer perceived as individuals who symbolize the authority and power to enforce rules and expect compliance.

When caught in a tight spot, most people are generally reluctant to seek help from police personnel. As a consequence, every individual has a free rein in devising his own solution to negotiate his way through traffic hazards, which precludes the possibility of a widely accepted standardized system of road regulations. Amidst the chaos that ensues each working day, the only semblance of sanity is provided by a few functioning traffic lights. All else is left to chance, with a huge probability of human error.

A random sample of a hundred people provided the following responses:

* Why do people break traffic rules? 68 said it is because of a lack of accountability; 19 said it is because of a lack of awareness; 13 said it’s a bit of both.

* What would you like the government to do to improve traffic control? 56 said traffic police should play a more active role; 33 said the system of traffic signals should be improved; 12 said better roads should be constructed.

* How often do you suffer from road rage? 73 said very often; 24 said occasionally.

 

‘We lack a culture of respect and tolerance which is quite evident on the roads’ — Arif Khan, Section Officer, Cantt Police Q. What are some of the problems that you face in traffic control? A. The streets are very narrow; there are haphazard cuts (allowing right and left turns) that block traffic into long queues. The planning and construction of roads hasn’t adapted to the city’s growing traffic. Besides, there is little cooperation from citizens which hinders our attempts to organise traffic.   Q. Why do you think citizens fail to cooperate with the police? A. We lack a culture of respect and consideration, which is quite evident on the roads. Besides, many people have (in the past) successfully used their clout to pressurize police officers into excusing their mistakes. For example, some people still get away with tinted car windows which is against the law.   Q. What solutions would you propose to help improve the traffic conditions? A. We have already started with buses. They are being asked to keep to the left lanes to help avoid the chaos that results from their regular stops. We need proper bus stations so that unplanned stops are avoided. Also, greater emphasis is required on traffic rules, such as respecting signals.

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