THIS is apropos of reports being published in newspapers regarding mass causalities due to road accidents across the country. One survey of the National Transport Research Centre had depicted that Pakistan has a serious road accident problem and the fatality rate appears to be higher than those of many other developing countries (fourth highest of 29 countries).
This shows that roads have increasingly become dangerous to an extent that they kill more than any other natural or unnatural cause every year. One calculation confirms that the reported deaths on roads in Pakistan are estimated to be above 50,000 a year.
Owing to ambiguous and outdated legislation, non-compliance on the part of drivers and owners of vehicles and poor monitoring by the authorities concerned to look and check on the influx of heavy vehicles, particularly heavy trailers, tankers and buses, are causes of deaths on roads.
The situation is becoming serious and needs all concerned to immediately take the following urgent actions in order to save precious human lives. Policymakers need to review and update the Highway Ordinance and Motor Vehicle Ordinance along with their rules in light of the current contextual traffic realities and also to ensure its proper and effectiveimplementation, particularly at district levels, included rural peripheries of the country.
Furthermore, a few other specific issues which need to be seriously taken are included to put an immediate ban on the heavy and long trailers at least in the areas where there are single and already shattered roads, like desert parts of the country. In addition, carrying of passengers and bulk loads on rooftops by public transport buses must be banned.
More importantly, road design faults and roadside hazards should removed to meet the international standards to ensure safety. Particularly in deserts the rainwater runoff becomes a major cause of roadside hazards, which could be easily handled by following proper designs of roads inbuilt with runoff drainage pathways at intervals.
It is also the need of the hour that the Pakistan road safety book should be revised according to the needs of the day. Such stuff should be made part of school syllabus and further be used for raising mass awareness to reduce road accidents and associated fatalities.
ASHOK SUTHARTharparkar