Who is responsible for causing regular traffic jams and road blocks? You. This is what was recently revealed by an online ‘Traffic Violation Survey 2015,’ conducted by PakWheels, the largest online car portal in Pakistan.
In Pakistan, regular traffic jams and long tailbacks have become part of the urban life. However, only a few research studies have been conducted until now to identify the factors that cause traffic congestion and related issues on a regular basis. According to the survey, almost 93 per cent of people believe that they don’t park their vehicles appropriately and responsibly outside mosques, shopping malls, schools and other public places, showing that they least care for pedestrians, motorists and people on the roads and sidewalks.
More than 70 per cent of the people surveyed considered incorrect parking as one of the leading causes of persistent traffic jams in cities while nearly 30 per cent found paying no attention to traffic lights as the chief factor behind traffic gridlocks.
In reply to a question about using CCTV cameras on roads to monitor and control traffic, around 62 per cent respondents voted in favour of cameras while 38 per cent believe using such monitoring devices would not make any difference to the actual issue. Breaking a law may excite a criminal mindset but what happens when everyone starts disobeying laws so many times in a day? As reported by the Pakwheels.com traffic survey, there is a long list of factors such as a wrong parking, faulty driving and blatant disregard of traffic lights, together with inadequate police response, that lead to regular traffic snarl-ups on the roads and in public spaces.
There is a dire need for civil society to come forward and work in cooperation with traffic authorities to make sure that traffic laws are strictly followed by everyone to avoid the resultant chaos.
MASOOD KHAN
Lahore
