Experts
called for establishing a transport safety board to maintain
safety record of all modes of transports and conducting specific
studies on safety issues and investigating all major accidents.
The
demand was made in one of the recommendations adopted at the seminar
organized jointly by the Chartered Institute of Transport Pakistan
(CIT) and Pakistan Division of Royal Aeronautical Society at the
PIA Training Centre Auditorium on 7th October 2000.
The
seminar recommended that a road safety committee responsible
for developing a road safety strategy be established and the
year 2001 be declared a road safety year and action be taken
to create an awareness of the issues relating to road safety.
The road safety education courses for drivers and pedestrians
be arranged through TV, and education about road safety be made
mandatory in all schools of the country.
The
periodical surprise medical tests of road and rail drivers and
allied staff be carried out to check the use of drugs and human
perception and reaction time, for which appropriate standards
be laid down.
The seminar also recommended that the greater attention
be paid to reflectory markings on vehicles to provide better visibility
in dim light and the standard tail lamp be improved to illuminate
tail lamp.
Headlights
of locomotives should be made more powerful to be able to identify
obstructions on the track Sindh Transport Minister
Dewan Muhammed Yousuf Farooqi, who inaugurated the seminar,
said that country’s safety record in the road transport sector
is one of the worst in the world. He said due to ever-increasing
demand for all modes of transport and particularly the road
and air transport, the subject has received a worldwide attention.
Karachi
with a vehicle population of over a million is a prime example
of increasing road accidents with a heavy toll of life and limb,
he added.
He
said that the transport department would look into the recommendations
of the institute was to promote, encourage and coordinate the
study and advancement of both the science and art of transport
in all branches that is rail, road, sea and air.
Honorary Secretary of the CIT (Pakistan), Brig (Retd.)
S.S.A. Qasim said that the subject for this year’s seminar had
been chosen because of the tremendous importance of safety in
all modes of transport.
In
the working session, eleven papers were read out by the speakers
who emphasized on safety in all modes of transport.
Khawaja Raffat Zaheer, Secretary General, Association of Road
Users of Pakistan, while presenting his paper said that Pakistan
has one of the highest rates of road accident fatalities in
the world. It is estimated that about 10,000 people die every
year as a result of road accidents although, the reported figure
is about 7.200.
If the current trend in road safety is not checked by suitable
counter measurers, the predictions for the future are indeed
bleak. At the present rate of growth in the year 2010 there
will be around 14,000 fatalities and about 700,000 accidents
resulting in a total economic loss of about US $2.5 million.
He said that one of the major shortcomings in the traffic management
system in Pakistan is the lack of data on road accidents. For
proper enforcement of traffic rules, there is a need for a good
analysis of the accident data, resulting in clear policy priorities.
Accident
data provides the objective and scientific basis for determining
the kind of remedial measures most likely to be effective.
Without
the collection of accident data, the safety of a nation’s road
network cannot be assessed and monitored. He stressed the need
for adopting measures required for improving road safety in
urban areas, steps for increasing pedestrian safety and launching
the road safety campaigns.
Brig. (Retd) S.S.A. Qasim, Honorary Secretary, CIT, said
many accidents are the result of human error, but the standard
of training and licensing are reducing these risks.
Capt.
Amjad H. Faizi, former chief pilot in PIA, highlighted the air
traffic system and deplored the role being played by Civil Aviation
Authority. He stressed the need for bringing an improvement
in the activities of civil aviation.
Speakers also called for improving the transport safety
measures at sea and in the railways. Those who spoke included
Dr. S.A. Hasan, Syed Nasir Zaidi, DS Railways, Karachi, Ziaullah
Shaikh, Capt. M.Y. Rizvi, S.M.H. Rizvi, Capt. Intizar Mehdi, and
others.
Courtesy:
Daily Dawn ‘s report dated 8th October 2000
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