Put an end to rash driving

The killing of a young son of my neighbour by a speeding vehicle has once again brought to light the sorry state of road safety in Rawalpindi city. Aamir Hasan, an employee of a private firm, was going home when the vehicle hit him. As he fell on the street, the driver ran him over, injuring him severely. He later succumbed to his injuries.

Reportedly, the vehicle that killed Aamir was not being driven by an adult, but by an underage boy. A month before this accident, another road accident killed a young girl student and injured two others as an auto-rickshaw was hit by a car bus near TCS. In both cases, the drivers fled the scene immediately after the accidents.

“Let me point out the fact that the demands of the road safety have not been met by the authorities to date. People continue to lose their lives on the roads on a daily basis, while the authorities concerned never take the issue of road safety seriously,” says Aiman Batool, Aamir’s distressed mother.

“Where is the road transport law? The authorities should fully enforce it. The result of the authorities’ indifference towards implementing the law is the ever-increasing chaos on our roads, resulting in deaths and injuries,” says Sadaf Zahra.

“To prevent the road safety from deteriorating further, the authorities must implement the road transport laws without further delay. It should hold discussions with transport experts and all concerned stakeholders to make the law effective,” says Saleha Hussain.

Why is underage driving so prevalent on our roads? They cannot produce a driving license, but claim they had been driving the vehicle for the last many years without any issues. They may have meant this to be a reassuring statement, but it is anything but that,” says Afia Hasan.

“I just wonder how ineffectively the current road safety laws are implemented if a 15-year-old has been able to drive any kind of vehicle. Certainly, the suspected driver might have been even younger than he claimed to be,” says Saneea Naqvi. “There is little doubt that recklessness on the roads, including the fact that teenagers are able to drive any vehicle, is perpetuated by the authorities’ apparent apathy towards road safety. Perhaps, the road transport law is still in its draft form waiting to be evaluated by the law ministry,” says Shahwar Syed.

Anyone, including the traffic police, need only look at these drivers to know that they are clearly not old enough to drive. Therefore, I wonder if bribes exchanging hands allow adolescents to drive fearlessly on our roads,” says Saima Ali.

Shifa Zaidi says, “I believe that the focus of the law should be shifted from underage drivers, towards traffic police who allow these adolescents to put their own and others’ lives at deathly risk.”