1,785 road accidents recorded during Eid holidays in K-P

Majority of those injured were reported as being youngsters between 15 to 25 years

PESHAWAR: Despite the fact that traffic police have been putting in all their efforts on sensitising the general public regarding traffic rules, over 1,785 Road Traffic Accidents (RTA) have been reported across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) during Eidul Azha.

Earlier four people including a child died during road accidents with three in district Charsadda and one in village Tor Khan area of union council Sher Kera in district Peshawar where according to media cells of all the tertiary care hospitals, dozens of injured people, majority of them being youngsters between 15 to 25 years of age were received at the accident and emergency department.  Majority of the victims brought in had been injured in road traffic accidents.

Serious measures have been adopted where fines are being imposed on motorcyclists for not wearing helmets, motorists not wearing seatbelts besides overloading passenger vehicles.

Officials however say the enforcement is visible in the provincial capital alone and that too in limited areas where people were already following safety instructions.

“It is not only the provincial capital where the traffic police should enforce the laws. Since these strict laws are for the whole province, traffic police must ensure the laws are implemented across the province otherwise road traffic accidents will continue claiming lives,” a senior government official dealing with driving licenses informed.

The official, who wished anonymity since he was not entitled to speak to the media, stated that there was a huge number of underage motorcyclists and even many driving passenger vehicles carrying passengers within the city.

“This is not only police but parents also must not allow kids one wheeling since it always ends up in severe injuries or sometimes turn out to be fatal,” the official informed.

According to the K-P health department, some 1, 785 road traffic accidents were reported across the province with 267, the highest figure being in Abbottabad. The document, a copy available with The Express Tribune read that the district health officers reported 1, 327 which were the rest, out of which some 458 were reported by medical superintendents at different health facilities.

The documents read that Abbottabad was followed by district Malakand with 218 such accidents where the officials believed over speeding between Sakha Kot and Batkhel left several people injured, most victims were under the age of 15 years.

Health officials at district Dera Ismail Khan reported 153 accidents followed by 145 such accidents in district Lakki Marwat with 124 reported by the district health officer and some 21 by the medical superintendents, the documents read adding that district Nowshera reported 131, Dir Lower reported 130, Swabi 107, Buner 102, Kohat 81 and district Karak reported 72 road traffic accidents.

Similarly, 70 road traffic accidents were reported from district Mansehra, 67 from Shangla, 62 from Hangu, 60 from Swat, 46 from Haripur, 27 each from Chitral and Batagram. 10 road traffic accidents each were reported from district Torghar and the provincial capital, Peshawar during holidays for Eidul Azha. Data of such accidents at six districts is being filed.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 26^th, 2018.