Road rules: Traffic regulations up for implementation in syllabi

Committee rejects report on fatal crash on Lyari Expressway.

ISLAMABAD:

The National Highways and Motorways Police (HW&MP) has requested that all provinces include the subject of traffic awareness in school syllabi in order to minimize the occurrence of fatal road accidents.

Inspector General Police Zulfikar Cheema briefed the National Assembly Standing Committee on Communication about the written request at the committee’s meeting on Monday, chaired by MNA Sufyan Yousuf.

Cheema said that a centralized system for issuing licences is under consideration in consultation with the provinces; under the new system, a licence flagged up by the system three times would lead to the driver’s suspension for six months.

“Studies have revealed that about 80 per cent of traffic accidents take place due to drivers’ negligence and there is a need to launch a large-scale awareness campaign to educate drivers about traffic rules,” said Cheema. He said the NH&MP’s road safety policy includes measures in this regard.

The committee rejected NH&MP’s report regarding an accident on the Lyari Expressway in February when five women and five children of the same family lost their lives as the Shehzore truck they were travelling in plunged into the Lyari River, within the limits of PIB Colony police station of Gulshan-e-Iqbal. The committee said the report ‘contradicts ground realities’. The IG informed the committee that under the Deputy Inspector General’s (DIG) supervision, another inquiry is underway and a report would be submitted to the committee soon.

Cheema said that the non-computerization of toll plazas on national highways and motorways are causing irregularities and corruption, as well as security issues. “I think that the operators are making lame excuses to computerize the toll plazas at the highways in order to hide corruption and irregularities,” he claimed. The committee recommended that the National Highway Authority (NHA) computerize all toll plazas within two months and, in case of failure to do so, cancel contracts of the firms involved.

Member Administration NHA informed the committee that the first stage of computerization is underway at toll plazas on motorways. The Authority outsourced these toll plazas to the Frontier Works Organization (FWO) and the computerised system was subsequently suspended on the excuse of power shortages. However, the committee was told the computerised system is in place and negotiations are ongoing with the FWO.

The committee’s chairman suggested that Chinese and Korean investors be considered regarding the installation of solar systems to power the systems at toll plazas.

Regarding the overloading on motorways, the IG said that earlier up to 58 tons of weight was allowed on motorways and, when the rule was enforced, transporters protested by going on strikes. The allowed weight was then increased to 80 tons. Cheema said that a warehouse was required to store offloaded goods from vehicles exceeding the weight allowance.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 15^th, 2014.