Daily Times

When the news of road accidents is reported on the TV screen or appears in the newspapers, people don’t take any serious notice of it. They only scan the newspaper headlines about the accidents without reading the details underneath. Why aren’t the accidents taken seriously even by the government? Four deaths by say Covid would raise alarming news than twenty people dying and ten injuring themselves in a bus accident on the Karakoram route.

Recently, there was an accident on M2 Motorway when a bus driving toward Lahore damaged and crossed over the median and hit a car coming from the opposite direction. The car turned turtle; luckily its occupants sustained minor injuries. Some among the bus passengers said the bus driver was making a video clip while driving and negotiating a road turn when he lost control of the vehicle. But the newspapers reported that the brakes of the bus failed hence the accident that resulted in the death of thirteen people, including four women and three children. As many passengers were seriously injured. Assuming the driver was not making any video why should the brakes fail? It only proves poor maintenance of the vehicle. Is there any department responsible for checking the roadworthiness of the vehicles?

When driving through the Kalarkahar area, one finds the lane meant for long-body vehicles is usually pitted because of the heavy loads the vehicles carry, yet one observes heavy vehicles trying to overtake each other. There was a time when if one continuously drove in the fast lane meant for overtaking, one was flagged down by the Motorway police and fined. Not anymore. Even the patrolling vehicles have reduced in number. I once asked an M2 police official why the patrolling on the road had lessened, he replied: “Sir, our department has expanded on the top. The cars meant for patrolling have been allotted to the top officers. And the small number of vehicles with us for patrolling get a low allotment of fuel.” It’s typical of bulging bureaucracy that eats up resources meant for public well-being.

Long-distance roads are mostly single and poorly-maintained with mountains on one side and deep ravines on the other.

The scene on the two toll tax plazas, Lahore and Islamabad, is mostly chaotic. Frequently, the vehicles that didn’t pay the toll tax in advance were squeezed into the passage meant for those who had already paid the tax. The errant drivers are asked to reverse and pass through the toll booth meant for cash payment. But reversing is not easy as many vehicles add up behind to pass through the toll plaza. What a waste of time for the time-conscious motorists who had paid the tax in advance! To remedy the situation, those who violate the rules must be fined. Simple. But who will organise the system at the toll plazas? Ask the FWO that collects the tolls.

Some years ago, there existed a department that regularly checked the roadworthiness of all vehicles. The breaks, indicators, wipers, and head and tail lights of all big vehicles and cars were checked. But not anymore. Negligence about vehicle maintenance is common even among many educated owners. One observes bonnets of fairly new cars lifted with steam wafting out of the radiators on the Lahore canal bank road. The worried occupants are seen standing outside looking confused. Some of them wet themselves by filling bottles of dirty canal water to put in the radiator to cool the engine. Mind you, it was reported some time back that more than twenty residential colonies discharged their sewage into the canal.

And why do so many accidents take place in the Northern areas that various governments don’t tire of claiming as world-class tourist areas? There are three main reasons for it. First, the long-distance roads are mostly single and poorly maintained with mountains on one side and deep ravines on the other. Second, the conditions of most of the vehicles are not road-worthy and, third, the drivers of the vehicles carrying local and foreign tourists are not adequately trained to drive in the mountainous terrain. Unfortunately, when the accident takes place between a bus and a wagon, both roll down into the ravine resulting in the deaths of many. In a light vein, tourists of both local and foreign varieties keep in mind that hazardous journeys add to the thrill of tourism, especially in our northern areas.

The governments overlook the fact that traffic conditions on the roads reflect the working of the administration. Chaotic driving conditions such as zigzagging motorcyclists frequently changing lanes, and car drivers with cell phones locked to their ears driving leisurely in the fast lane, unchecked by the traffic staff prove that other government departments are as inefficient and slipshod. Lastly, why is the nation in a hurry on the roads?

The writer is a Lahore-based columnist and can be reached at pinecity @gmail.com