Road safety: ‘80% of traffic accidents can be avoided’

Over 12,000 people are killed and around 50,000 people are injured in road traffic accidents every year.


Press Release March 11, 2014
National Highways and Motorway Police Inspector General Zulfiqar Ahmed Cheema says that 80 per cent of the accidents occur due to over-speeding, reckless driving, fatigue and the use of cell phones while driving. PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: The number of people killed or injured in accidents is four times higher than the number of victims of bomb blasts and explosions, said the National Highways and Motorway Police Inspector General, Zulfiqar Ahmed Cheema.

“Over 12,000 people are killed and around 50,000 people are injured in road traffic accidents every year,” said Cheema. He was addressing a road-safety seminar organised by the National Highways and Motorway Police South Zone, Karachi, at the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology.

Addressing the seminar, Cheema said that 80 per cent of the accidents occurred due to over-speeding, reckless driving, fatigue and the use of cell phones while driving.

He also claimed that about 60 to 70 per cent of the injuries could be prevented simply by using seat belts. Following the seminar, awards were distributed to officials of the National Highways and Motorway Police.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 12th, 2014.

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