From The Past Pages Of Dawn: 1951: Seventy-five years ago: Karachi traffic
EDITORIAL: The Karachi authorities have … been trying to put order into the chaos of the city’s traffic. We suggested, last year, the drilling of the Karachi public in traffic rules. This suggestion was taken up and a loudspeaker van is often seen directing traffic on the busiest thoroughfares at peak hours. This is all to the good. But much more remains to be done… .
Speeding is still very common in the city. There is a marked tendency among bus drivers, and others too, to treat the city roads as racing tracks. … There is need to curb another tendency. Instead of pulling up on the extreme left, bus drivers quite frequently stop in the middle of the road in order to pick up or drop passengers. … Such habits of driving are sufficient to convert wide roads into narrow lanes, adding to the general congestion.
Dazzling lights are not a nuisance but a menace. They have a blinding effect on the eyes of drivers as well as pedestrians and can cause serious accidents. … The police recently launched a drive against it; but even now the need to enforce the rule on busy routes like Elphinstone Street, Bunder Road and Frere Road is as great as ever.
Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2026