THE Sindh government recently fixed the speed limit for light vehicles on Karachi’s main arteries, including Sharea Faisal, at 60km per hour, and installed monitoring cameras at several points. While it is a welcome step in principle, it appears largely symbolic in terms of practice. Early one morning around 6.35am, while driving on Sharea Faisal to drop my son near the Karachi Press Club, I kept my car’s speed at or below the prescribed limit.

Ironically, I felt like the slowest vehicle on the road. Motorcycles, rickshaws, small cars, passenger vans and even police patrol vehicles overtook me with ease. Drivers behind me flashed high beams, pressuring me to move aside, as if following the law was an inconvenience.

This raises some obvious questions. Are the speed cameras fully functional, or only at some selected points? Do regular commuters know exactly where to slow down and where to speed up without having to face consequences?

Traffic laws lose their purpose when enforcement is selective or missing. Without uniform and visible enforcement, speed limits risk becoming mere signboards rather than tools to ensure public safety.

Dr Tasneem Ahmad
Karachi

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2026