Road accidents claim more lives than terrorism: Murad

0
64

ISLAMABAD, Jan 3 (APP):Minister for Communications Murad Saeed has said that revision in traffic violation fines on national highways and motorways was aimed at curtailing the growing number of road accidents as it claimed more lives than the subversive activities in the country.

“More than 27,500 people were killed in road mishaps in Pakistan during 2016, that was almost three times greater than the number of combined deaths in terrorism (956) and homicide (8516) for the corresponding year, he said, in a statement, citing the World Health Organization data. Road traffic accidents were major cause behind the death of youngsters, he added.

The government for the first time had formulated the Road Safety Policy to met the targets set under the Sustainable Development Goals and the UN 2030 Global Road Safety Performance. He said the economic cost of road traffic crashes in middle-income countries was estimated to be as high as 5% of gross domestic product (GDP).

Murad Saeed said Pakistan’s GDP was projected to increase to US $360 billion in 2020 and if this projection was correct, based on a conservative cost of 3% of GDP, road traffic crashes could cost the Pakistan economy about $ 11 billion in 2020.

He said a quick glance at the cross-country comparison for fine rates indicates that Pakistan was amongst the few countries where, the fines for traffic violations were the least even after the revision.
In case of over speeding, he said the amount of fine in Pakistan was Rs. 2500/- whereas it is £1000 (Rs. 202,747) in England, AED 300-3000 (Rs. 12,653 to 126,527) in United Arab Emirates, Saudi Riyal 300-2000 (Rs. 12,391 to 82,604) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Similarly, Murad Saeed said the fine rate for driving without a license in Pakistan was Rs. 5000/- whereas it was £1000 (Rs. 202,747) in England, AED 400-500 (Rs. 16,870 to 21,088) in United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Riyal 150-300 (Rs. 6,195 to 12,391) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

He said the earlier fine rates were framed in 2000, at the time of promulgation of National Highway Safety Ordinance. The objective of this revision was to promote a culture of responsible driving and maximize safety of commuters on national road network, he added.

He said one of the major indicators for sustainable development was responsible and compliant road behavior of drivers which was ensured through strict enforcement. He expressed the hope that after the implementation of increase of fine on violations, 50 percent accident rate would be decrease in the country.

Leave a reply