December 1, 2005

According to press reports there are plans to introduce separate lanes for motorcycle drivers in Karachi. The proposed lanes will either be part of the sidewalk or marked in the middle or either side of the road. Previously there had been plans to install cameras on road crossings to catch traffic violators.

One wonders who comes up with these fancy schemes as the concerned authorities forget the basic fact that traffic conditions in the city can only improve with the implementation of existing laws, and not by making new laws or by introducing new technology. Take the case of installing cameras to catch traffic violators. Do the authorities honestly believe that they need cameras to catch these people? They are used in those countries where citizens usually obey the law but some of them might decide to violate it on a deserted road or stormy night.

In Karachi, as in the other cities of Pakistan, there is no respect for the law and on any street at any given time one can easily witness traffic violations. The situation has become so bad that if you stop on a red light when there is no traffic on the other side the people behind you start honking, urging you to break the signal. This attitude is not limited to the middle class localities, it is also rampant in the posh areas whose residents during their annual overseas holidays would not dare contemplate such an act in another country.

The city traffic police system has totally collapsed and traffic police are mere idle bystanders while vehicles indulge in an orgy of traffic violations. The lack of implementation of existing traffic laws also accounts for traffic jams. Have you ever wondered why, in spite of the fact that most roads in Karachi have been widened and carpeted, there has been no easing of traffic flow? The answer is very simple. When these roads had two lanes there would be two slow vehicles such as water tankers or trailers blocking the two lanes, and now when there are four lanes there are four vehicles performing the same act. The traffic police has not been able to enforce the rule that slow vehicles should drive on the left leaving the right lane for fast ones.

The mini buses are another reason for traffic congestion. Every few yards their drivers stop vehicles in the middle of the road to pick and drop passengers, caring less for the traffic jams being created by them. The frustration of the drivers behind such vehicles can be gauged from the incident that took place some months ago in which three young men got down from their car in Malir and shot a mini bus driver who was holding up traffic. Many of us have harboured this desire while suffering at their hands.

Now, if we have separate lanes for motorcycle drivers, who will restrict motorcyclists to their lanes and prevent other vehicles from encroaching on these lanes?

Things have become so bad that the other day at a crossing in Liquatabad, one witnessed a traffic policeman standing helplessly as a majority of the vehicles were ignoring his orders. Now why waste the taxpayers’ money in marking streets for separate lanes when the traffic police just do not have the power, the inclination or the resources to implement these decisions.

What is really required in Karachi is to dismantle the present structure of the traffic police and build a new one with a 24-hour surveillance based on the successful model of the highway police. Educated young men with proper vehicles, training and backing of the concerned authorities, can change the scene in the metropolis just as they have done on the highways.

Until these fundamental changes are made in the infrastructure, the dream of a well-managed traffic system in the metropolis can never materialize no matter how much money and time is spent on introducing new rules.

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)