Road accidents haunt metropolitan streets

As a sprawling megacity with a burgeoning population of more than 20 million and only but a theoretical mass transit system, Karachi's streets appear to have been destined for chaos.

Berserk traffic, time-worn infrastructure and dereliction of duty by authorities, have all contributed to a surge in road accidents, which have claimed at least 1,238 lives in the past five years.

According to data compiled by the Traffic DIG's office, the West district has been the most perilous for commuters. Over 69 accidents were recorded in just the first seven months of 2021. Out of these accidents, 51 proved fatal and only 18 accidents left one or more survivors. Last year, in the same time period the total number of accidents in West district was 56, out of which 40 had no survivors.

West Traffic SP Noorul Haq Rind said that the high number of accidents in the area is due to the district's proximity to the local port.

"Some 5,000 heavy vehicles run every day on these roads, shuttling oil and cargo from the port to factories and warehouses and back," said Haq. "A lot of these vehicles are not fit to be on the streets, and the traffic police have cancelled quite a few of vehicle fitness certificates for this reason," he said.

According to the government data, heavy vehicles have been known to be particularly notorious for road accidents. Since 2016, trawlers have reportedly been involved in over 333 cases of collisions, including 21 such cases this year alone.

Out of these 21 accidents, over 86 per cent were fatal. In most cases it was motorcyclists who were killed in these accidents.

In the past five years, at least 58 fatalities were recorded due to accidents involving motorcycles.

"It's not a one-sided affair. Motorcyclists are also among some of the most reckless of drivers on Karachi's highways, trying to overtake heavy vehicles while flouting all traffic rules. In many incidents there are too many riders on one two-wheeler. Most accidents prove fatal for them," said the SP.

Gaps in data

Meanwhile, local crime reporter Hanif Manjothi pointed out that the data is not representative of the number of accidents that actually occur.

"Official data only mentions those accidents that are legally processed at police stations or courts. Whereas, over 50 per cent of accident cases in Karachi are settled via private deals, outside the law," he alleged.

According to Manjothi, out of the cases, which are reported, only a small fraction of perpetrators are formally prosecuted. "In most cases, the area police records accidents as cases of rash driving and negligence. This provides a legal loophole for accused drivers to save themselves by paying off the victim's heirs," he said, adding that most culprits go scot free.

According to Section 320 of the Pakistan Penal Code, which pertains to punishment for qatl-i-khata by rash or negligent driving. The law states that "whoever commits qatl-i-khata by rash or negligent driving shall, having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, in addition to diyat, be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 10 years".

In addition to that, it is believed that perpetrators of fatal accidents also exploit Section 98(3) of the Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1965, to their benefit in the court of law.

According to law "no person shall be convicted of an offence punishable under sub-section (1) solely on the evidence of one witness to the effect that in the opinion of the witness such person was driving at a speed which was unlawful, unless that opinion is shown to be based on an estimate obtained by the use of some mechanical device."

Another issue that plagues the city's traffic system, is the cover-up of cases that happens at district police stations. As first responders to collision cases, police officers are also reported to dismiss cases and fail to lodge paperwork.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, an officer of the licence branch revealed that legalities are often disregarded and cases are seldom lodged.

"Police stations usually don't forward particulars of drivers involved in fatal accidents to the relevant license branch for the cancellation of their licences. So there isn't much that we can do and errant drivers continue to endanger tens of thousands on the streets," the officer told The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 23^rd, 2021.