It’s tragic news that a major road accident has claimed 20 precious lives and left 10 others badly injured. The accident took place when a Quetta-bound speeding bus plunged into a ravine in Balochistan. This single incident is sufficient to open the eyes of the Transport Authorities but it seems that nothing will change in the near future. The accidents, casualties and injuries are everyday incidents across the country and roads have been changed into traps for deaths. Our country has a serious road accident problem wherein the fatality rate appears to be higher than in many other developing countries, i.e., fourth-highest among 29 countries.
This shows that our road infrastructure is vulnerable to any mishap or accidents at any time to an extent that road accidents claim more lives or limbs every year than any other natural or unnatural cause. One estimate confirms that the reported deaths on roads in Pakistan are estimated to be above 50,000 a year. It seems that laws, rules and regulations and road safety measures are not being implemented in their true letter & spirit to safeguard the precious lives of thousands of people. The vague and outdated legislation, non-compliance on the part of drivers and owners of vehicles and poor monitoring by the authorities concerned are playing havoc. It is a social and legal crime how drivers to endanger passengers’ lives to earn a few more bucks, overtake other vehicles, over-speed trying to race other buses and indulge in myriad traffic violations in an inexplicable mad rush to go from one place to another. The safety of passengers, pedestrians and fellow motorists should be foremost in the mind of anyone who drives. To make sure this is never overlooked, operators of mass transport vehicles should do their best to remind their drivers that passenger safety comes first. The concerned authorities also need to be more watchful regarding road culture so that these tragedies could be avoided.
The major contributing factors & main causes of the increase of everyday vehicles and road accidents include broken and narrow roads, old vehicles, inexperienced drivers, poor safety measures, excessive speed, overloaded vehicles, unfit vehicles, flashlights, vehicles without retro-reflectors, illuminating stripes, drivers without a license, children driving, vehicles without registrations, use of mobile phones during riding, use of intoxicants, loaded vehicles left at roadsides, or faulty vehicles standing at main roads at night times etc. Moreover, over-speeding is the main reason for road tragedies. It is also observed that the majority of vehicles do not have safety measures as per laws and become a reason for deadly road accidents.
These incidents can be reduced by implementing the laws, rules and regulations and needed to be implemented as required to safeguard the lives of thousands of precious lives.
