• 55pc of road accident victims are motorcyclists, 32pc pedestrians, says traffic police chief
• Experts say drivers often lack patience, refuse to give way to others
• Law enforcement, public awareness stressed to tackle rising accidents

KARACHI: Amid a sharp rise in accidents mostly involving heavy vehicles resulting in deaths of hundreds of people in Karachi in recent months, officers of law enforcement agencies, healthcare providers and civil society members have stressed the need for strict implementation of traffic laws, their awareness among the public and sought urgent reforms in road infrastructure and safety systems in the metropolis.

They were speaking at a seminar, “Road Traffic Accidents in Karachi: Causes and Solutions”, which was organised at the Arts Council of Pakistan by its Medical and Social Welfare Committee here on Saturday.

The event started with a presentation by Ali Suhag, in charge of Sindh Police Accident Analysis Research Centre (SPAARC). He pointed out that education and information about traffic laws were key elements in prevention of accidents, but 98 per cent of people only knew how to operate vehicles and lacked basic knowledge of rights of others on the road, traffic rules and safe and responsible driving practices.

Mr Suhag also highlighted behavioural issues and said that drivers often lack patience and refuse to give way to others, even in emergencies.

He also criticised the common refusal to wear helmets and gave the example of a case where a man told him that his son avoided wearing helmet because it “ruins his hairstyle”. Such attitudes reflected a dangerous ignorance that must be addressed through consistent education and law enforcement, he concluded.

Dr Sabir Memon of the Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Institute of Trauma asked citizens to act responsibly and highlighted the global impact of traffic accidents.

“Around 1.3 million people die each year in road accidents worldwide, with most incidents occurring in middle-income countries,” he said.

About Karachi, Dr Memon said that a sharp rise in accident cases had been seen lately. “Previously, we received about 100 cases daily, but now that number has grown to nearly 150 per day,” he said, adding that two-thirds of the victims were motorcyclists, many of whom were young boys and teenagers.

He also spoke about the serious consequences of such accidents and pointed out that many accident victims were sole breadwinners of their families who suffered life-altering injuries and then were unable to return to work.

Those injuries didn’t just affect individuals; they impacted entire families and caused social and economic loss and burden of healthcare sector, he said.

Speaking on the occasion, DIG-Traffic Pir Mohammad Shah said that while law enforcement was a key issue, public awareness of traffic laws was equally important. Providing statistics, he said that 55pc of road accident victims were motorcyclists, 32pc pedestrians and the rest involved cars and other vehicles.

He then outlined multiple causes behind road accidents, which included over-speeding, lack of lane discipline and the absence of a proper system to monitor the load carried by heavy vehicles.

He said overloaded trucks without under-run bars, side under-run rails or guards often led to fatal accidents, especially when motorcyclists were run over during collisions.

The officer also pointed out that motorcyclists overtaking from the left side of heavy vehicles was a major contributor to such accidents.

He also raised concerns about the mental and physical fitness of heavy vehicle drivers, which he said was currently under investigation.

DIG Shah noted that the shortage of traffic signals was another major issue. That was primarily due to insufficient funding for the Traffic Engineering Bureau. He added that efforts were underway to make the department more autonomous in the near future.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Qaisar Sajjad said that up to 207 deaths had been reported in the city so far this year, most of which involved heavy vehicles.

He said lack of law enforcement, poor infrastructure such as broken roads and weak coordination between departments were significant problems. There were also widespread encroachments on roads and footpaths which left no space for pedestrians and created serious hazards, he added.

He emphasised that these issues must be urgently addressed to reduce the rising number of traffic-related fatalities.

Faisal Edhi of the Edhi Foundation also spoke.

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2025