Picture of the Day: Are You Impressed, Or Disturbed?

Adil Najam

We at ATP have always had a fascination for peculiarly ‘Pakistani’ vehicles on Pakistani roads (here, here, here and here). And this picture is as ‘peculiar’ to Pakistan as it gets.

So, are you impressed by the fact that someone could (a) pack such a huge load and (b) drive this vehicle long distances? Or, are you depressed that someone would be ‘allowed’ to do so despite the obvious safety issues that this would raise?

While we have written about such over-loaded vehicles before, and while a part of me certainly says, ‘Wow’, this is no joking matter at all. The accompanying story in Dawn (April 22, 2007) about this and other ways in whcih traffic rules are disregarded is worth reading for exactly this reason.

GUJAR KHAN, April 21: The National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP) have failed to check traffic violations on the G.T. Road, a survey by this correspondent showed. The oversized loading of iron bars, chaff and other materials on trucks and tractor trolleys; taking turns without proper use of indicators, faulty head and back lights, faulty brake lights, overloading on public vehicles, use of high beams as well as wrong side overtaking are the common violations on the highway.

It was observed that at some points the speed reading cameras were being used but the drivers very well knew these points and reduce the speed while approaching the pickets and soon after they again resort to speeding. According to the commuters, speed checking was merely an exercise to collect fine for the contractors who have become stakeholders of the force.

They said regular patrolling, observation of violations and chasing the carelessly-driven vehicles seemed least concern of the force. The officials sitting in airconditioned cars and vans seldom bothered to go away from the fine collection vans, they added. The road users pointed out that in a beat area the presence of the NHMP was on one side of the dual carriageway, which let the violators on the other side of the road go unchecked.

Furthermore, in the urban areas of Gujar Khan, Sohawa and Jhelum, there are some U-turns designed without proper survey which have become notorious for fatal accidents. The traffic rule violations at these U-turns also go unnoticed. The road users complained that the helpline numbers at the camp offices of NHMP remained under the official use and the callers in distress failed to connect it on time. They urged the ministry of communication to improve the working of the National Highways and Motorway Police in order to ensure road safety between Rawalpindi and Lahore.