When roads become dangerous

Around 81 people died in 76 fatal accidents in the first eight months of the current year in Islamabad.

ISLAMABAD: More people lost their lives due to road accidents in the federal capital this year than any other cause. Around 81 people died in 76 fatal accidents in the first eight months of the current year.

Foremost cause of such mishaps as cited by statistics and police personnel was the lack of awareness regarding pedestrian bridges and convenience in avoiding them. Fourteen pedestrians lost their lives on the Islamabad Expressway for the same reason. The ratio was similar to the figures for the same time last year.

Shehzad Town and Koral Area police said that such accidents were taking place on the Expressway because people were trying to cross the four-lane highway on foot. So far, nine fatal and another nine non-fatal accidents have taken place this year and again the ratio is almost the same for this period in the previous year.

“People do it out of convenience. They try to save time by not using the overhead bridges and risk themselves in front of the speeding vehicles on the road instead,” said Mustansar Hussain, a resident of Dhok Kala Khan.

However, Hussain added that the elderly people could not use the overhead bridges due to their age. “It is really hard for them to climb the stairs due to which they prefer using the road,” he added.

Another reason cited by the locals was the distance they had to cover in order to access the bridges.

“I cannot walk two kilometers just to get to the bridge and then cross the road and again the same distance to get to the bus stop, especially when I am getting late from the office,” said Muhammad Sadiq, who lives in Iqbal Town on the eastern side of the Islamabad Expressway. Sadiq commutes from the Expressway on a daily basis in order to reach his office and back home.

Nevertheless, despite of all the excuses, people admitted to the danger of meddling with speedy traffic on a highway. They said that the vehicles were mostly not guilty, because they were entitled to drive on the road unimpeded. Some even suggested erection of fences to prevent trespassing.

Another dangerous avenue for the commuters and the pedestrians alike was the Grand Trunk Road. In the jurisdiction of Tarnol Police Station, 13 people lost their lives and 13 received injuries, in 12 fatal accidents on the GT Road, during the same period.

The residents also blamed Islamabad Traffic Police for their inability to make the roads safer for the people as 95 got injured in over 150 fatal and non-fatal accidents elsewhere in the city.

Abdul Ghaffar, a resident of I-8, who commutes to Blue Area day to work at a shop, claimed that the ITP’s performance was going down every year. “They are no longer active like they were initially. We
no longer find them at important traffic junctions where they used to stand regularly,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 19^th, 2010.