Road accidents are a huge cause of human trauma making road safety a matter of concern for everybody including civil engineers, traffic police and the general public. This was stated by Minister of State for Communication, Engineer Muhammad Shahid Jamil Qureshi on Thursday while addressing a two-day international seminar on Road Safety. He said that use of roads in a disciplined manner and adherence to the traffic rules and regulations are essential to save the precious human lives.
The seminar was organised by National University of Sciences and Technology in collaboration with Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) at NUST Headquarters, Rawalpindi from 8 to 9 December 2004.
The Minister told the gathering that over 7000 lives were being lost and tens of thousands injured in road accidents every year in Pakistan, adding that the loss to the national economy was over $1 billion.
He said that the accident rate in Pakistan is eleventh highest in the world. The present accident rate in Pakistan is 30 fatalities per 10000 vehicles which is fifteen times higher as compared to the developed countries where the accident rate is only 2 fatalities per 10000 vehicles. This alarming situation is a huge challenge for the government and the public, the minister said.