Sorry state of road safety in Karachi

Karachi is the financial hub of Pakistan and hosts thousands of markets along with bank headquarters and business centres. The metropolitan city hosts recreational centres, sporting venues and national sites.

However, the grass is not green on the other side when it comes to the provincial capital. There are many problems in “the city of lights” some of them are alarming ones.

Road safety is one of the prime ones. We come across incidents every day in which people get killed or suffer grave injuries due to accidents or vehicle collisions. There are many reasons why they happen.

We have to look at the amount which Sindh set in the budget for the infrastructure. The rulers claimed of spending millions of rupees on the rehabilitation of roads in Karachi but the situation has not changed.

It is common to see broken and flooded roads in the rainy season. Recently, a huge pothole appeared and it posed a danger for the vehicle as well as people.

We can blame the government for not improving the situation but we have to look ourselves in the mirror and make out what is wrong. People neglect the rules and safety protocols and end up putting themselves in grave situations.

Drivers of cars and motorcycles often don’t stop at the red light and not thinking of the consequence of their actions. The riders of two-wheeler are seen riding their bikes on the pavement in traffic jams. This becomes a nuisance for pedestrians as their walking space is being violated.

Karachi is in desperate need of pedestrian bridges. For example, if we are commuting on Shahrah-e-Faisal and Airport road, we can only find a few that are many kilometres away from each other. It will help people – along with vehicles – cross the heavy traffic roads safely and save time as well.

Last but not the least, the vehicles are driven at speeds that are over the limit. It has a two-way impact i.e. physical and mental. When a driver gets into a dangerous high-speed accident, it affects its psyche and would later hesitate to go behind the wheel.