Heavy vehicles involved in 50pc accidents: Odho

Karachi police chief Javed Alam Odho on Wednesday told a media briefing at the Karachi Traffic Police headquarters that efforts are being made to solve two high-profile cases in Bahadurabad, including an attack on a crime reporter.

He said a meeting had decided that in view of a sharp increase in traffic accidents in the city, something will have to be done out of the routine. Odho said steps will be taken to prevent traffic accidents so that the traffic system can be improved. As many as 479 fatal accidents have occurred in the city this year, and 345 FIRs have been registered. FIRs are not registered for some incidents, or cases are not registered for deaths due to one’s own fault or due to motorcycle skidding.

The additional IGP said the number of fatal accidents has gradually gone up, mainly due to an increase in road construction activities and the movement of heavy vehicles, including those transporting solid waste.

Dumpers, water tankers, minibuses, trailers and large vehicles are involved in 50 percent of accidents. There is a need to control heavy vehicles, and challans have been increased for negligence by heavy traffic and violations of laws.

The police chief said that we have decided that even in bailable sections, the arrested drivers will not be given bail from the police station, and they should get bail from the court. About 57 percent of accidents are due to negligence of small vehicles, he said, noting that a total of 470 people lost their lives in accidents this year, 50 percent of them in Keamari, West and Malir.

There is a lot of heavy traffic towards the Karachi port or from Malir towards Port Qasim, and accidents have increased in those areas. Odho further said more than 7,000 drivers have been arrested and cases have been registered against 350 others. There is a need to increase actions, and people will be made aware through the media, he said, adding that speeding also causes accidents, and they are going to start a ten-day campaign for motorcyclists as the trend of wearing helmets has decreased a lot, as has the use of rear-view mirrors in motorcycles.

Moreover, they do not want to put financial burden on motorcyclists, and they will run a large-scale campaign, he said, adding that NGOs are also being involved in it. He said using rear-view mirrors and helmets can reduce accidents, and they have to work to prevent accidents. He said the amount of challans is high, so they want to raise awareness, and action against large vehicles has been accelerated.

Odho hoped that with the cooperation of the media, we are running a campaign, saying that caution is better than regret. The entry of dumpers has been stopped during the day, but solid waste transportation cannot be stopped. He said dumpers are also running on the under-construction Malir Expressway.

Heavy traffic will be allowed to enter the city after 11pm as part of action against vehicles being driven recklessly. The additional IG said speed has been brought, and there will be zero tolerance for corruption. He admitted that traffic accidents have increased in the last two and a half months, the DL branch has been contacted, and the dumpers association has also been called. No big vehicle will be allowed to speed up, and if any vehicle does, an FIR will be registered along with a challan for the violation.

The police chief on a query said that the police are making full efforts to ensure justice in the murderous attack on a crime reporter. There have been two high-profile cases in Bahadurabad, and both the district police and the CIA are trying to solve them. He said the attack on the reporter is a blind case but efforts are underway to solve it.

Upon another query, he said the infrastructure needed to run traffic needs to be expanded, and the road repair work should be such that the public does not face any problems. During inspections, 350,000 challans were issued. The main reason for traffic jams in the city is loadshedding as people frequently protest against the lack of electricity. Due to the lack of electricity, there is also a shortage of water. He said we only get data about accidents from government hospitals. Whenever a human life is lost, the victims file an FIR. We also rely on third parties for accident figures.