Traffic police collected Rs897m against 3.9m tickets in 2021

Karachi’s traffic police department managed to control traffic violations committed by commuters by recovering higher figures of fines paid against the challans issued during 2021 as compared to the preceding year.

Karachi traffic police chief DIG Ahmed Yar Chohan told The News that fatal and non-fatal accidents showed a slight increase during 2021 as compared to the preceding year because the city was on lockdown during 2020, so traffic was thin on the roads.

However, the officer pointed out, the ratio of fatal and non-fatal accidents during 2021 was still good because the traffic police made efforts to control accidents by strictly implementing the traffic laws.

Moreover, DIG Chohan said he has issued directions to the traffic police to improve their performance, control the accidents occurring across the city due to traffic violations and challan the people violating the traffic laws.

He observed that pedestrians fall victim to road accidents the most, followed by cyclists, motorcyclists, other vehicles’ drivers and passengers. He said that 224 people were killed and 217 injured in road accidents during 2021.

He pointed out that speeding buses, minibuses, trucks, trailers and tankers cause the most accidents with motorists as well as pedestrians while crossing the road. He said speeding cars also claim a number of lives of pedestrians crossing the road.

According to him, the major causes of accidents include rash and negligent driving, illegal encroachments on roads, unavailability of pedestrian bridges, absence of zebra crossings and installation of fancy grilles at major thoroughfares, which fall under the responsibility of the city administration.

He said that in many of the cases, where pedestrian bridges and zebra crossings do exist, people often avoid using them to cross the busy roads, eventually falling victim to traffic accidents.

It has also been noticed, he added, that many roads of the city do not have proper stop points and zebra crossings, while buses usually stop in the middle of the road to pick up passengers, which is also a major cause of accidents.

He suggested reviving the old traffic awareness programme and educating the public from time to time, especially adding traffic as a school subject at the primary level so that children can be aware of the traffic laws from an early age, which will help them in the future.

He also stressed the need for mass transit and alternative transportation systems on a war footing, warning that the traffic system can turn into a mess in the coming years, considering the number of vehicles being registered on a daily basis in the city.

The traffic police chief said Karachi’s roads also need to be improved because the infrastructure is 40 to 45 years old and has many engineering faults, which need to be removed soon as well, otherwise it will be difficult to control the mess on thoroughfares four or five years from now.

Performance report

DIG Chohan, however, appreciated the efforts made by the traffic police during 2021 for implementing the traffic laws, including the issuance of more tickets to people violating the traffic rules than the preceding year.

He said that the total number of challans issued during 2021 was 3.9 million, imposing fines worth Rs913 million, as compared to 3.2 million challans issued the preceding year, with fines worth Rs762 million imposed on traffic violators.

Moreover, the traffic police managed to recover Rs897 million in fines against the tickets issued during 2021, as compared to Rs750 million the preceding year, he added. While he expressed satisfaction with the traffic police officials’ performance in every district of Karachi, he ranked District West first for issuing 978,421 tickets (approximately 2,681 a day).

He ranked District East second for issuing 700,714 tickets (approximately 1,920 a day) and District South third for issuing 608,543 tickets (approximately 1,667 a day). Referring to the list that shows the vehicle-wise action taken by the traffic police, he said that 1,183,255 four-wheelers and 173,019 two-wheelers were challaned during 2021.

He also listed the major traffic violations that were challaned: 1,480,620 for breaking the signal, 896,290 for not wearing a helmet, 51,323 for double or triple parking, 47,337 for juvenile driving, 28,211 for fancy registration number plates, 21,823 for tinted glasses, 19,836 for extra seats and 5,281 for pillion riding.

DIG Chohan said directives have been issued to the District SPs regarding the issues that can be resolved at the district level, such as the removal of temporary encroachments, the removal of double and triple charged parking, and the removal of illegal parking from no-parking areas.

He said the directives also include coordinating with deputy commissioners for the allotment of impound yards, and taking action against intercity buses and school vans fitted with CNG kits.

Providing the statistics for 2021, the traffic police chief said 190 fatal accidents and 69 non-fatal accidents had been reported across the city, killing 224 people and injuring

217 others.

He said that most of the accidents occurred in District West, where 73 fatal ones were reported, adding that District Central reported 32, District East 23, District Korangi 20, District Malir 20, District South 19 and City District two.