Every year around 13,000 people are killed and around 50,000 are injured because of road accidents
KARACHI: Automotive safety in Pakistan has always been a concern for the end users. Pakistan’s Motor Vehicle Ordinance and legislation on vehicle safety have not been amended since 1969. We unfortunately have a 49-year-old safety standard. Every year around 13,000 people are killed and around 50,000 are injured because of road accidents. The estimated total cost of these accidents and deaths are around 100 billion per year to our national exchequer.
Numerous essential safety features are omitted from Pakistani vehicles. This can be determined by the fact that most prominent automakers in Pakistan charge around Rs1.3 million to Rs1.8 million and for this much amount people do not even get ABS brakes and airbags in their vehicles.
Moreover, few automakers in Pakistan do not even crash test their vehicles. Ultimately, increasing the life threat for consumers. Therefore, necessary safety features such as airbags, ABS brakes, electronic stability control and a traction control system should be made mandatory for locally manufactured vehicles. These safety measures will not only reduce the fatality rates caused by road accidents but will also save around Rs100 billion to the national exchequer, which could be utilised productively for other sectors.
Muhammad Hammad Noor
Published in The Express Tribune, September 9th, 2018.
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