Teaching road safety

A major, decades-old problem in the country is the issue of road safety and the alarming number of traffic accidents and casualties witnessed year after year. In what sets an undesirable Asian record, nearly 6,000 people were killed in road accidents across the country last year. Another 14,000 were injured too. Faring just as badly, Karachi, with 221 people killed and 243 injured in 2019, ranked fourth in the world in the number of road accident fatalities. In an effort to ensure law-abiding citizens of the future after repeated unsuccessful attempts to have citizens abide by traffic laws, Karachi traffic police have launched a campaign to familiarise schoolchildren with traffic rules and regulations. Although they must be commended for the effort, much more needs to be done to ensure the safe use of roads.

Firstly, it is essential that we strictly enforce our traffic laws. Virtually all infringements committed by drivers – such as violations of traffic signals, speeding, driving in the wrong direction on major roads, underage and unlicensed driving, the use of mobile phones and not wearing helmets or seat belts while driving, etc – could be substantially deterred by ensuring certainty of punishment for the violators via strict penalties. This necessarily involves ending police corruption at all levels. If drivers are certain they will not be able to evade punishment, they will be strongly discouraged from violating the law, thus leading to a safer environment for all. Secondly, it is essential that the government improve the designing of roads and also ensure good road quality. Road designing is an area where we are well behind the developed world and it is a critical aspect of road safety. Thirdly, there is a need for a concerted awareness campaign through the media as well as periodic instruction in schools on the need to abide by traffic rules.

These steps are critical to ensure the safe use of roads in our country.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 2^nd, 2020.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.