The Punjab Emergency Service (Rescue 1122) responded to 923 Road Traffic Crashes (RTCs) in all 36 districts of the province on Monday. In these RTCs, 20 people died and 1,127 were injured.
A total of 684 people were seriously injured and shifted to different hospitals, whereas 443 minor injury victims were treated at the incident site by rescue teams. The on-the-spot treatment helped reduce the burden of hospitals.
Analysis of the data retrieved from Rescue 1122 showed that the majority of RTCs involved motorbikes, making it necessary to effectively enforce traffic laws and lane discipline.
Further analysis showed that 409 drivers, 28 underage drivers, 162 pedestrians and 556 passengers were among the victims of RTCs. The statistics showed that 245 RTCs were reported in Lahore which affected 251 persons, placing the provincial capital at the top of the list of most accidents followed by 109 in Faisalabad with 120 victims and Multan at third with 61 RTCs and 59 victims.
The details further revealed that 1,127 victims were affected by RTCs including 866 male and 261 female victims, while the age group of victims shows that 201 were under 18 years of age, 640 were between the ages of 18 and 40 years and the rest of the 346 victims were reported to be above 40 years of age. The data also revealed that 740 motorbikes, 108 rickshaws, 93 cars, 56 vans, 19 passenger buses, 21 trucks and 112 other types of vehicles and slow moving carts were involved in the aforementioned road traffic accidents.
Around 1.35 million people die each year in traffic accidents around the world, while in Pakistan lack of road safety and road crashes claim around 25,000 lives every year, says a World Health Organisation (WHO) report.
The report was quoted at a seminar, ‘Road Safety and Challenges of Pakistan’ organised by the Motorway and Highway Police at the University of Peshawar on Tuesday.
The National Highways & Motorway Police (NHMP) DIG, Muhammad Alam Shinwari, blamed reluctance to follow precautionary measures for most road incidents. In Peshawar however, motorcycle accidents, involving one-wheeling in particular, cause most of the casualties – and most of the victims were aged between 15 and 30 years.
On a stretch of road between Peshawar and Nowshera, on an average five accidents take place every month in which precious lives are lost, according to the DIG. “More people are killed in road accidents every year than in the war against terrorism,” he added.
SSP Waheedur Rehman listed wrong crossing, lack of precautionary measures, lack of service roads on highways, un-fit vehicles, animals on highways, riding motorcycles without helmets, and one wheeling as the major causes of road accidents.
Dr Akhtar Ali Shah, in his presentation, said that three-wheelers and two-wheelers did not follow traffic principles and safety protocols in the country which was why most accidents involved these vehicles.
In neighbouring India, showbiz celebrities and sports stars are engaged to create awareness about road safety which is making a difference, he added. NHMP should also take such initiatives to curb road accidents.
“Around 70% accidents can be avoided if precautionary measures are followed by motorcyclists in the country,” he claimed.
Speaking on the occasion, Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Asif Khan said that driving licences were issued easily without following international standards and inexperienced drivers were not aware of road safety which resulted in most of the accidents .
