Safe travel: Plea moved for effective measures against accidents

Number of deaths attributable to road accidents in Pakistan is almost thrice that of terrorism-related fatalities

ISLAMABAD: A petition has been moved in the apex court to flesh out plans for constituting an Independent National Road and Transport Safety Commission that could drawn up effective measures to avoid road accidents.

The head of the Pakistan Bar Council’s human rights committee Mohammad Raheel Kamran Sheikh has filed a petition in the Supreme Court under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, urging it to order the constitution of the said commission with concurrence of the federation and all provinces.

He submitted that the said commission while considering and evaluating fatal road accidents may give recommendations regarding the administrative measures that should be adopted to avoid such accidents and tragedies.

He also said that the commission may also give its recommendations of the legislative amendments required in the existing laws governing road and transport safety in Pakistan, for the effective control and substantial reduction of the accidents and deaths or injuries.

The petitioner pointed out that Pakistan has one of the highest road accidents mortality rates among developing countries, with death on roads estimated to be above 25,781 a year.

According to him, the Global Status Report on Road Safety, 2015 published by the World Health Organisation asserted that road accidents were a leading cause of death of young people aged 15 to 29.

Similarly, the number of deaths every year attributable to road accidents in Pakistan is almost thrice than that of terrorism-related fatalities, mostly owing to the appalling conditions of road infrastructure, lack of awareness about and non-observance of the traffic rules and road safety procedures.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 25^th, 2016.