Pindi sees spike in road crashes

The city district of Rawalpindi has witnessed an alarming increase in road accidents as 41 people were killed in more than 24 fatal accidents and 1,400 suffered injuries, including 584 with critical injuries, in more than 1,400 accidents reported this month.

The City Traffic Police (CTP), the National Highway and Motorways Police (NHMP) and the Punjab Highway Patrol (PHP) could not effectively control violations of speeding and ensure traffic rules on the national and provincial highways and link roads. The CTP executes enforcement of traffic laws in the tehsils of Gujar Khan, Kahuta, Kallar Syedan, Taxila and other surrounding areas including Rawalpindi.

Road accidents could not drop in Rawalpindi despite tall claims of mass awareness for road safety and traffic rules among road users.

Rescue 1122 received a total of 1,442 calls of road traffic accidents or emergencies from August 1 to August 28, which were responded. As many as 1,468 people were affected and 41 people were killed in more than 24 fatal and serious accidents. 698 accidents involved speeding, 487 careless driving, 44 wrong turns, 12 U-turns, one one-wheeling, 10 accidents sudden tyre bursts and 190 accidents were reported due to other violations.

First aid was provided to 848 minor injured, while 584 seriously injured were shifted to different hospitals in Rawalpindi after first aid. According to the rescue authorities, among the tehsils, Rawalpindi tehsil reported the highest number of 1,269 road traffic accidents. A total of eight people died and 1,267 people were affected or injured. 639 road traffic accidents occurred due to speeding, 424 due to negligent driving, 42 owing to wrong turning, eight involved sudden U-turns, one because of one-wheeling, three tyre bursts, and 152 accidents happened because of other reasons. Among them, 817 injured were discharged after giving first aid on the spot, while 442 seriously injured were shifted to different hospitals.

Rescue 1122 statistics further show that a total of nine accidents were reported in Tehsil Kahuta, in which 27 people died and 33 others were injured. Two accidents occurred due to speeding and five due to negligent driving. There were 71 road traffic accidents in Tehsil Taxila, in which three people died and 68 people were affected or injured, nine were discharged with first aid, and 56 were transferred to different hospitals. As many as 35 accidents were reported due to speeding, 18 accidents due to careless driving, one due to taking wrong turns and tyre bursts, while 16 accidents were reported due to other reasons.

The Girari Bridge coaster accident on Kahuta-Azad Pattan Road last month was the most serious and fatal accident in which all 26 passengers died. After this accident, the alleged negligence of the CTP, the Regional Transport Authority (RTA), the coaster's owner and the bus terminal manager, came to light. The coaster had neither a route permit nor a fitness certificate.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Usman, who travelled from Gujar Khan to Rawalpindi, said that after a major accident took place in Kahuta, they [passengers] thought that the CTP, NHMP, PHP and RTA must have tightened the surveillance on public transport. "The driver was driving at a very high speed but he was not stopped by any official at any place," he recalled.

Another citizen Saad said that he often got into a fight with the drivers of the public transport for negligent driving during the journey. Authorities should ensure compliance with traffic rules so that travel on highways can be safe, he suggested.

Additional IG Traffic Punjab Mirza Faran Baig, when contacted, said that the CTP, the NHMP and PHP, were performing patrolling services in their respective road jurisdictions across Punjab.

Although the three departments were responsible for their respective limits, traffic police in cities and the Punjab Traffic Police also coordinated with the three for better traffic management, he further said, adding Rescue 1122 figures always looked high as the service responded to all emergencies and accidents in each district and counted every one of them.