32,000 Pakistanis die in road accidents annually

PESHAWAR: Around 32,000 people are killed every year in Pakistan in road accidents, which make it the fifth deadliest country of the world in road fatalities and there is greater need of awareness and precautionary measures to ensure road safety.
This was a crux of a daylong seminar on ‘Road Safety’ at the University of Peshawar on Monday. The seminar was arranged by the National Highways and Motorway Police.
Vice-Chancellor University of Peshawar Prof Dr Rasul Jan was the chief guest on the occasion. Vice-Chancellor University of Engineering and Technology Peshawar Imtiaz Hussain Gilani, Deputy Inspector General Motorway Police Zubair Hashmi were also among the speakers.
A number of students, faculty members of different educational institutions, motorway police officials and others attended the seminar. Some professors from different universities and senior officers the Motorway Police presented presentations to create awareness among the people about road safety.
The speakers stressed the need for careful driving and the highway users should keep themselves safe of the faults committed by others.
A speaker said that nobody admitted one’s fault and always blamed others for a road accident. He added that this attitude of shifting responsibilities should be discouraged.
Another speaker said that drivers should avoid using cellphones and watching the video screen in the cars as such things distracted the attention of the driver and caused accidents.
He said that extreme fatigue and less sleep could also cause accidents. He stressed the need for effective legislations and proper implementation of the prevailing laws to prevent more accidents.
The dilapidated condition of roads was also one of the prime reasons of excessive road accidents, said another speaker. He stressed the government to focus attention on improving the road conditions. The speakers informed that globally road accidents killed around 1.2 million people each year whereas 50 million face permanent disability. They said that motor vehicle laws in Pakistan were outdated and the “Motor Vehicle Rules 1969” needed amendments in line with the present-day requirements.
Dr Rasul Jan lauded the services of Motorway Police, which according to him was one of the most disciplined, well-organised and effective institutions. He urged the students to become ambassadors of the message delivered in the seminar on road safety so that more and more people could be educated about the issue. Imtiaz Gillani underlined the need for a standardized license system in the whole country. He stressed the participants to obey traffic rules and avoid violations.