‘Better road engineering to reduce fatalities’

Statistics indicate 5,000 accidents annually, with up to 10,000 deaths.

ISLAMABAD: With the increasing number of road accidents, researchers believe that policy changes and the government giving higher priority to road engineering could help reduce the number of fatalities and injuries. Government statistics indicate that there are 5,000 accidents reported yearly in the country with up to 10,000 fatalities.

On the occasion of the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, an official at the Road Traffic Injuries and Prevention centre in Jinnah Hospital Karachi told The Express Tribune that the number of cases reported were doubtful and that the figures could be higher than that. “We have seen that the figures are under reported due to legal issues; most of the people do not report accidents when they happen,” said the official.

However, Programme Manager for Road Traffic Injuries and Prevention centre, Dr Syed Ameer Hussain said that the government’s priority should be to oversee and ensure improvements in road engineering before all else. “Improving road engineering should be our priority so that accidents like the Shershah Bridge in Karachi can be avoided in the future,” said Hussain.

Hussain said that more needed to be done to develop strategies for road safety and the protection of vulnerable pedestrians. “There are a few efforts that have been made but safety facilities for pedestrians need to be expanded, there are occupied foot paths which need to be cleared and more facilities need to be made for them,” said Hussain.

He elaborated on how there were no training schools for drivers in Pakistan and that everyone learnt from their fathers, elder siblings or by driving; which increased the risk of accidents and adds to the number of deaths reported annually.

In developing countries, including Pakistan, relatively little research is conducted on the causes and consequences of Road Traffic Accidents (RTA). There has been a marked increase in the injuries and related risk factors but accurate data about RTAs is still not available for Pakistan.

This needs to be addressed as a policy issue and consideration should be given to this issue of great public importance. “The data needs to be reliable so that the policymakers can identify the problem areas and work on them,” Hussain said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 21^st, 2010.