Most victims of traffic mishaps are bikers

City police chief AIG Javed Alam Odho on Wednesday assured of taking steps to control the traffic accidents.

"An alarming number of fatalities in the road mishaps have been reported over the past few days, which require urgent corrective measures," the top cop of the metropolis said at a press conference at his office along with DIG Traffic.

So far this year, he said, 489 people have died in traffic accidents and 345 FIRs have been registered. He further said that heirs of the victims do not pursue legal action in some cases, particularly when the rider died of his own fault.

Odho told the media that per estimates, at least 50 per cent traffic accidents occur due to the movement of heavy vehicles, and in most of the cases the victims were bikers, rickshaw riders or pedestrians. Sharing the stark statistics, he said that about 57 per cent of the people killed in accidents in the city were motorcyclists.

Challans have been increased for negligence by the drivers of heavy vehicles and violation of traffic laws. "We have decided that the arrested drivers will not be released from the police station unless they get bail from the court."

Over 7,000 drivers have been netted and cases have been registered against more than 350 vehicles this year, the police chief said.

Regarding safety of the motorcyclists and the pillion riders, he stressed the need to launch public awareness campaigns through the media.

Speeding by motorcyclists is another significant cause of accidents. A 10-day campaign is likely to be launched to motivate motorcyclists to use helmets and get the rearview mirrors fixed on their two-wheelers. This way graph of accidents can come down.

He said that the roadblocks caused by public protests against power-outage also disrupt traffic flow.

Reckless driving

The city police chief has said that the rising number of traffic accidents in the city is primarily due to irresponsible driving and blatant disregard for traffic laws. To address this, strict legal action will be taken against drivers without licences, as well as the owners of the vehicles.

A six-member delegation from the All Pakistan Dumper Truck Transport Owners Association (Sindh), led by association's president Haji Liaquat Mehsud, met the Additional IG Karachi Javed Alam Odho and discussed the challenges they face.

He said that such reckless behaviour will not be tolerated. He issued orders to take strict legal action against unlicensed drivers and their owners.

Odho warned that no leniency will be shown towards individuals putting citizens' lives at risk. Drivers will have to undergo training to ensure full compliance with the traffic rules. The Karachi police chief assured that all possible steps are being taken to enforce traffic rules, prioritising the safety and security of citizens and their properties.