Van tragedy

A review of the regulations concerning installation of CNG kits needs to be done by the provincial governments.

Another road tragedy has taken place, this time on the outskirts of Islamabad when a passenger van caught fire near Golra Sharif, killing 12 people who were on board. The CNG cylinders exploded after the van accidently crashed. Over the last year or so, we have seen many cases of road accidents which lead to the loss of life. The issue also raises some questions about the safety of using highly inflammable gas cylinders in public transport vehicles. While a cheap alternative to petrol, the rapid popularity of CNG seems to have not been accompanied by a corresponding regulatory framework, especially with regard to installation and maintenance of CNG kits in vehicles to ensure compliance with safety standards.

The loss of life, of course, means terrible suffering for the relatives of the victims including the seven who still lie injured with no certainty of whether they will live or die. The main question though, is that of accountability. Road accidents take place around the world but perhaps, not with the frequency we see on our roads. There is a need to determine if the accident was caused as a result of rash or inept driving on the part of the driver of the van, who is injured but in a stable condition. It is disturbing that his family now appears to be involved presumably in connivance with police, to portray his brother — who died in the accident — as the person who was behind the wheel at the time of the crash. It is also possible, as some reports are suggesting, that the driver’s fault was only a minor one, as he attempted to save a pedestrian and swung his van into the median of the GT Road. However, we need to set a tradition for getting to the bottom of matters rather than to leave them hanging, or worse, disclosing only part of the truth. A review of the regulations concerning the installation of CNG kits is the minimum that needs to be done by the provincial governments.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8^th, 2011.