Daily Times

Sir: The number of road accidents is increasing at an alarming level. The matter seems to be getting out of the control of the traffic police; however it is important to remember that this isn’t solely their responsibility.

It is the collective responsibility of the government, the citizens and its security agencies to tackle this problem. The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) needs to take a bigger role in the country as well, and if the officers of all these related departments coordinated with each other then the chances of accidents can be minimised greatly.

Moreover, almost every division has a specific commissioner who is has important role in containing accident in a given area. I have personally worked with some of these officers who used to patrols various roads around their district and study the behaviour of the drivers using them.

They would also investigate accidents and come up with policies that might reduce their number in the coming future. These inspectors would stop overloaded trucks and over speeding vehicles, and also check whether each vehicle was up to code, and in good condition.

They would also verify each driver’s documents and if there was anything missing or if the driver was violating the traffic laws in any way, then they would be fined and their licenses would be compounded, till the fines were paid.

In some cases the driver would even have their licenses cancelled altogether. Even though many drivers complained of the harsh treatment they received, the number of accident in any given area reduced by a considerable level. Even though this practice wasn’t continued by the district leaders, perhaps it is time to revert back to them, in order to minimize accidents in the future.

RAJA SHAFAATULLAH

Islamabad

Published in Daily Times, July 11^th 2018.