Three years ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that its data showed that road traffic accident deaths in Pakistan reached 28,170 or 1.93 percent of total deaths.

In the following years, however, the number of fatal road traffic accidents has only increased. On last Friday night, for example, at least 13 people were killed and more than 20 injured due a traffic accident near Rukanpur on the Multan-Sukkur Motorway (M-5).

According to media reports, the tragedy occurred as a speeding jeep rammed into two other vehicles on the highway near Rahimyar Khan, southern Punjab.

That road traffic accidents and the deaths caused by them have unfortunately become a routine affair in the country is a grim reality.

According to a study, Pakistan ranks first in the Asia region for most fatalities in road accidents. The situation is profoundly alarming, to say the least.

The situation underscores the need for strictly implementing traffic and driving rules immediately. Driving above the speed limit or driving too fast is one of the major reasons behind road traffic accidents.

Speed limits are therefore required to be enforced strictly. The violators must be punished severely.

Ahmed Sami Khan (Islamabad)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023