'World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Crashes Victims' was observed here Sunday like other parts of the globe with a renewed pledge that all out efforts would be made to raise awareness among public about observing traffic law so as to avoid road crashes.
To mark the day, different activities were arranged to highlight the importance of the day.
The Punjab Emergency Service (Rescue 1122) commemorated the day in a bid to raise awareness about increasing number of road traffic crashes and community participation for prevention of these emergencies.
In this regard, awareness walks, seminars and other ceremonies were organized in Punjab to remember the many millions killed or injured in road crashes and their families and communities, as well as to pay tribute to the dedicated emergency services, police and medical professionals who daily deal with the traumatic aftermath of road death and injury.
The Director General, Punjab Emergency Service (Rescue 1122) Brigadier Dr Arshad Zia (retd), while quoting the statistics of road traffic crashes in Punjab, said that all District Emergency Services have rescued the victims of some 1,179,085 road traffic crashes in all 36 districts of Punjab so far.
"Road Traffic Crashes are major cause of death in young breadwinners of the society," he said, adding: We need to make a commitment to reduce this major cause of death, which is leading to a huge socio-economic burden on the economy of Pakistan.
Dr Arshad Zia further said that 1.3 million people die each year and over 50 million get disabled due to road traffic accidents and 90% of these deaths occur in low income and middle income countries like Pakistan where only 48% of the world's registered vehicles exists.
DG Rescue Punjab further warned that if some concrete steps are not taken at this stage on priority basis then within next few years, every family would have been affected by road traffic accidents in Punjab.
He also emphasised that typical mindset needs to be changed through media, as mostly road traffic accidents take place due to negligence of the driver or a fault in the vehicle or the road or a road user.
The Director General also directed the District Emergency Officers to conduct research in their relevant districts on road traffic crashes and recommend steps for their reduction. He asked them to identify black-spots on roads and take district governments on board and take collective steps for community safety. He further asked the media men to play their pivotal role by giving prime priority and focusing on road traffic crashes for public welfare.