Blood on the highways

Road safety remains a critical issue in Pakistan, particularly in the country's north where rugged terrain, unpaved mountain routes and volatile weather create a high-risk environment for travelers. Accidents along these dodgy corridors in the upcountry are alarmingly common, routinely resulting in high-casualty incidents. The tragic accident involving a Peshawar-bound bus last Friday near the border between Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is a case in point. At least 40 passengers lost their lives as the overcrowded bus fell into a ravine nearly 80 feet deep soon after it left the Dhanasar area of Balochistan's Sherani district and crossed the provincial border into K-P's Dera Ismail Khan.

This preventable tragedy underscores a systemic failure to upgrade road infrastructure and enforce basic traffic regulations, besides exposing a deep institutional apathy towards human life. Even seven decades after independence, traveling between provinces by road is tantamount to playing Russian roulette. Decades into the modern era, citizens are still forced to navigate crumbling transit networks lacking safety protocols. To add to that, regulatory authorities routinely overlook worn-out and overloaded vehicles and exhausted drivers. Thanks to this absolute official neglect, the roads that should connect people rather serve as predictable death traps.

It's about time the authorities went beyond mere condemnation and promises of probe. They must take urgent and practical steps towards: 1) modernising infrastructure i.e. repairing, carpeting and widening roads; redesigning dangerous passes; installing safety railings; putting up high-visibility signs; etc. And 2) enforcing traffic laws and regulations, like ensuring highway patrolling, checking vehicle fitness on a regular basis, and strictly monitoring bus crew working hours to prevent fatigue.

Pakistan ranks 48th globally and 1st in Asia for the highest number of deaths in traffic accidents, as per the global transport data and the WHO. This can no longer be ignored by those at the helm.