The Issue of Traffic in Pakistan
Traffic issue is the 6th major social issue in Pakistan, according to the reports. Traffic jam on daily basis and never-ending wait on the roads is becoming a routine for the people of Pakistan. That feeling of helplessness, when you want to reach somewhere on time, but all you can do is to wait on the road and hope for the road to clear. People reach late to their offices even after driving fast, especially the students are the most who suffer a lot. Pakistan’s most populated & famous cities like Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Hyderabad, Gujranwala, etc. are faced with an alarming situation of Traffic congestion.
This major issue is caused by lack of public transportation and people not following traffic rules. Drivers drive recklessly. The traffic police mostly disappear, the roads are left abandoned where the police are utmost needed, or do not bother to monitor about the ruthless drivers as they put lives of the passengers at risk. This is due to a lack of civic sense in people which results in violation of traffic rules and laws. There is an ignorance of the traffic signs like Zebra Crossing, One-way, Stop, Parking, etc. Ambulances are not given space to go through the way, and it is risky for the serious patients inside the ambulance, drivers must reach hospital as quick as possible to save patients’ life. The number of road accidents is also growing apart from pedestrians facing a lot of inconvenience while crossing a road. The number of increasing trucks is also playing its part in this disastrous issue. Dishonesty of traffic police& avoidance of taxes by the general public are also the reasons of this poor system of traffic in Pakistan.
The issue of lack of public transport can be solve by government. Government of Pakistan should take this issue seriously and start projects like orange line train in Lahore in other cities too. Government should also restore goods trains, which will eventually decrease the number of trucks on roads, which are the one major cause of traffic jams. The people who also think that travelling by car can increase their respect in the society, should also change their mentality. Travelling by bicycle is more beneficial for health and for the environment. If you are only travelling for 2–3 km, you don’t need car, you can travel through bicycle or if public transport available in the area.
What we can do is that we can spread awareness in people for driving carefully and change the status co mentality, which thinks that respect is only for cars. We can arrange webinars with the help of traffic police and ask the government of Pakistan to make public transport more feasible.
