Road transportation is not only the most popular and widely used it is also the only mode which is available to most of the population in Pakistan. Transportation of passengers and goods by roads creates jobs, reduces transportation costs and increases access to markets for local produce and products.
Pakistan has a road network covering 255,856 km including 157,975 km high type roads and 97,881 km low type roads. National Highways Authority (NHA) is currently the custodian of 18 of Pakistan's major inter-provincial links called the national highways, including the motorways.
The total length of roads, under NHA, now stands at 8,885 km. These roads account for only 3.5 percent of Pakistan's entire road network but cater to 90 percent of the commercial road traffic in the country. According to the Economic Survey 2003-04, Pakistan has signed an agreement with the Asian Road Network for constructing an international road network, connecting Pakistan with 26 other countries.
More roads would mean more vehicles and possibly more fatal accidents, if we fail to implement on a timely basis proper road safety and traffic management systems.
Roads and motorised means of transport promise prosperity. However, there is downside to it as well. The vehicles cause a number of accidents every day resulting in loss of life, serious injuries to persons or damage to property. According to various reports, Pakistan is among the countries that have highest rate of road accidents.
Scores of people get hurt in major road accidents. Some lose their lives there and then, a few succumb to injuries on the way to the hospital, while a few more expire while under emergency treatment. The rest of the injured hopefully survive and after some time are discharged from the hospital.
The survivors are alive but might have deep scars or disabilities that could be permanent. We should prey that no one is involved in such accidents. The 'manslaughter' needs to be contained and reduced through appropriate measures.
Accidents most often take place when driving regulations, road safety measures or precautions are either ignored or violated. Speed is the main cause of accidents. As they say "speed thrills but it also kills". For an accident, it could be that the vehicle was not road-worthy in the first place. The driver of the vehicle might not be fully attentive while driving or he may be inexperienced or not fully trained to handle unruly traffic or a narrow bumpy road. Other drivers whose vehicles are involved in the accident could be at fault.
The pedestrians who got injured might be crossing the road in violation of the traffic light or were not paying attention to the blowing of horns by the driver.
In the absence of safety measures, accidents could take place due to numerous other reasons.
Some accidents might be more fatal such as head-on collisions between two vehicles. It could be a trailer truck and a bus or another truck van or a car. Such accidents, caused due to serious negligence, normally result in the loss of more lives, more fatal injuries to many and a total loss of the vehicles involves.
In other accidents, vehicle might hit a pedestrian or a bicycle, motorcycle, car or a wagon. In such accidents, the loss may depend on many factors including the speed at which the vehicles were moving. However, in such cases the pedestrian- a child, a man or a woman- has little chance of survival from serious injury or death.
Accidental deaths or injuries have serious implications, particularly for the immediate family, which might lose the sole bread-winner or a bright student with potential for becoming a great scientist, a doctor or an engineer.
This is also a big national loss. In the absence of comprehensive road safety measures and regulations, no one, howsoever careful or protected, and the members of his family are safe from road, air or rail accidents.
Rapid growth of motorization in the developing countries has resulted in a significant increase in road accidents. Lack of road safety significantly inhibits economic and social development. Road deaths and injuries are increasing at a faster pace in Asia than other regions of the world and now reportedly account for almost half of the world-wide total.
In several respects, road safety impacts on the poorer income groups as pedestrians and non-motorised vehicle users are frequent accident victims. Also the costs of medical treatment and long term outpatient assistance can have significant impact on household incomes.
With further motorization in developing countries, the number of accidents might increase. We should not forget that road crashes increase poverty.
Many road accidents and consequential losses could be avoided if the drivers are driving carefully within prescribed the speed limits, the pedestrians are walking on the footpaths or crossing roads at the zebra-crossings and the road are wide with proper road-signs and are lighted during the night. As in many cases, these factors are lacking, the society as well as the government has to take measures for bringing improvements in road safety and traffic management systems.
Every one of us is expected to participate in the design and implementation of road safety measures, in whatever way we can, for reducing the loss of lives or injuries to persons and damage to properties. There is no other way out. Moreover, travel on the roads is increasingly becoming unsafe due to highway robberies, for the elimination of which, the government should take proper measures.
The federal and the provincial governments are urged to improve road safety and traffic management programmes and strengthen the key organisations by increasing their ability to co-ordinate, develop and implement road safety initiatives. Existing laws, rules and regulations regarding road traffic might be reviewed and updated.
Data on deaths and injuries due to road accidents might be collected, stored and retrieved by the police investigating the accidents. Such data may be effectively utilised for educating the drivers, the students and other road users. Campaigns for awareness of the general public regarding the need for safe driving and avoidance of road accidents might also be launched frequently over TV and radio.
There should be proper research facilities for investigation and analysis of road crashes. Establishment of a National Road Safety Council might also be considered. As road safety involves various agencies, the establishment of the Council would help all agencies work in a collaborative manner. The Council might also set up an institute for training on road safety and traffic management. Some of the other important areas needing attention are briefly touched below.
It is felt that the accidents occur more due to reckless behaviour of the drivers at that particular moment than the fitness of the vehicle or the poor condition of the road. The reckless behaviour of the driver could possibly be due to alleged protection from the franchise companies with influential owners or the associations of the bus/truck owners, who might protect him if there is a serious accident.
The driver could be under the influence of a drug or under age or untrained, who got a driving license possibly due to connections in the right places. The driver, normally a cool and easy going one, could be under stress due to some family or work-related problem, who wanted to do some thing or to reach some place in a hurry. Road safety and traffic management deteriorates when the enforcement of laws by the police force is slack due to different reasons. It could very well be that one driver was driving safely but the other driver was reckless and the accident happened.
The most important road safety measure pertains to the training and grooming of drivers so that they drive only when they are in a proper frame of mind. The system for driver training and testing might be reviewed and improved with emphasis for minimising road accidents. This should be supplemented by a systematic review of vehicle testing and inspection.
Presently, most private hospitals nearest to the place of accident, instead of providing first aid for saving the lives of the injured, refer them to the government hospitals authorised to handle road accident cases. These hospitals obviously do not wish to get involved in police cases. It is possible that many precious lives could be saved if first aid was provided to the injured and loss of blood was immediately stopped on arrival at these hospitals. The government is urged to resolve the legal issue by authorising these private hospitals to provide treatment to the injured until there are satisfactory arrangements for safely shifting them to the authorised government hospitals.
Some of the vehicles, particularly cars, have comprehensive insurance policies from reputed insurance companies while the rest are probably carrying third-party cover from different insurance companies. The accident victims have a chance to get some financial help for medical expenses from well-known insurance companies providing comprehensive insurance or third party cover to the vehicles. However, it might not be easy to get any relief for medical care from little-known third party insurers. In many cases the vehicles involved in the accidents simply speed away leaving the victims bleeding on the roads, particularly at night or at isolated places The government is urged to review and improve the system of insurance cover for vehicles as well as the people involved in the road accidents. The victims of road accidents (or their families) might be provided financial help by the government to lessen their financial miseries.
Engineering shortcomings in the transport infrastructure including roads, bridges, turnpikes, footpaths, etc need to be removed in the light of scientific studies. Many roads have potholes that badly damage the vehicle or cause accidents. Such potholes need to be filled properly. Manhole covers of sewerage's passing under the roads might be provided if they are found broken or missing. At certain locations the roads might have to be redesigned to safely cater for the increased traffic flow. New link or parallel roads might have to be built to ease the traffic flow on the main roads. Accident-prone spots on the roads need to be identified and made safe for traffic movement at all hours through the redesigning of road and installing proper road signs.
All new roads should be built on designs that allow movement of goods and people at fast speed but ensuring the safety of both. Depending upon the need of each crossing, traffic lights might be installed, if possible controlled and synchronised with the help of computers. Roads might be brought to their designed breadth by removing encroachments.
Footpaths might also be restored to the pedestrians by removing encroachments by shopkeepers displaying their wares or used for the parking of vehicles. Parking plazas may be constructed, at appropriate locations, to remove congestion on busy roads.
The government might review the existing arrangements for traffic management of which enforcement is a critical component. The traffic police might be provided with enough personnel and powerful vehicles for the job and be given training for prevention and reduction of traffic accidents. Computers and new technology might be introduced and personnel trained for the purpose.
The police force might be encouraged to enforce regulations properly. The police personnel might also be given training for rescue operations in case of serious accidents. They might save a number of precious lives through this activity. The police force might also be given training to maintain the smooth flow of traffic, even at the time of VVIP's movement. For such occasions, alternate routes might be developed with proper signalling.
It would be nice if sign boards are installed on main roads for informing the motorists as to which roads ahead of them are being closed for normal traffic and suggest alternate roads for the journey. There should be co-ordination between the traffic police and the NHA, traffic engineering departments and municipal authorities for the designing, building and maintaining of safe roads.