Blocks and barriers on Peshawar’s roads causing accidents

PESHAWAR: The randomly placed blocks and barriers erected on roads in the provincial metropolis cause accidents, resulting in loss of lives, injuries and damage to vehicles.

One such incident took place right outside the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor’s House on the main Sher Shah Suri Road a few days back in which a journalist and his eight-years-old son sustained injuries as their car hit a concrete slab placed in the middle of the speed lane of the road.

There were no warning signs ahead of the roadblock nor they had been yellow painted to warn drivers. The street lights at the site were also not working.

The injured father and son were rushed to the nearby Lady Reading Hospital. Their condition was out of danger, thanks to the use of seat built and the airbags in the car, which saved their lives.

People gathered at the spot. Some were offering help to the injured journalist. Others were filming videos. In the video clips, the people were heard saying that they see several accidents at this point every day.

At many places on busy roads in the city, Saddar and outskirts, barricades have been placed right in the middle of the road, which remain invisible at night, thus resulting in accidents.“One motorcyclist died after hitting one of the blocks placed on the main Kohat Road close to the Naseerullah Babar Hospital last year,” a resident recalled.

He added the blocks were poorly placed at a number of places to make one-way, divert the traffic, or close a U-Turn. Several U Turns on Ring Road and other busy roads have been blocked with such concrete slabs without any paint. The managers of the traffic have no idea of the damages and casualties these barricades cause to the people on a daily basis. Such and even more dangerous barricades can be seen everywhere in the provincial metropolis.

Similarly, such slabs can be witnessed at the security checkpoints across the city.In some places, one can see the barricades made of V-shape iron bars with sharpened ends, clearly meant to play with human lives instead of managing traffic. Such bars can be seen at the entry point into the University of Peshawar and inside the campus.

The road barriers, too, have not been yellow-painted causing problems not only to a smooth flow of traffic but also damage to vehicles and the injuries to people on board.The spike barriers, also called tyre-bursters, have been erected at certain points in the city to ensure one-way traffic damage the cars.

At places like the Naz Cinema Road, Sarki Gate, Kohati Gate and others, people have removed certain spikes from the barriers creating a way for motorbikes and auto-rickshaws and thus the barriers have become more dangerous for vehicles.

There is a concern among the people against these strange and dangerous barricades. The people demand that at least warning signs should be installed ahead of the barricades.The barricades should be aimed at regulating traffic, not causing damage to the vehicles and for the purpose plastic slabs instead of concrete and steel ones could be better used.All the barriers in the city are required to be yellow painted so that motorists can see them from a safe distance.