The Pakistani Spectator

The Grand Trunk Road that starts from Bangladesh passes through India before ending in Pakistan. It starts from Wagha Border Lahore and leads up to Peshawar. Build on the orders of Afghan Warrior King Sher Shah Suri to connect remote provinces of India with several parts of western Asia, the GT Road was later improved by the British rulers, who gave it the label “Long Walk”.

It is one of the major roads for the means of transportation in Pakistan. About 95 per cent of inland cargo movement and more than 90 per cent of public movements within the country is by the road transport. As with time, more and more motorcars got on to roads, which required improvement and maintenance. In 1997, a new road project, known as Motorway, was introduced; it was the first motorway project in South Asia at that time.

Bank leasing is one of the major factors in the increase of cars on road. About 85 per cent of traffic flow is on GT Road N-5, which is a combination of routes that include Karachi, Thatta, Hyderabad, Multan, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Torkham, having a length of about 1,819 Km. Eight types of vehicle license plates are used in Pakistan. Each province and territory issues its own number plate. Registration authority registered more than 65 vehicles per day in Islamabad in 2005. This ratio has now gone up to 95 vehicles per day in Islamabad, and round about 200 in Lahore. The figure goes to about 4,750 every two months in Islamabad and 10,000 in Lahore. Keeping in mind the increasing rate of vehicles on road, the Government of Pakistan established a department for maintenance and improvement of GT road, namely National Highway Authority (NHA). It is the main department relating to conditions of GT road and Motorway. Furthermore, there are sub departments such as Motorway police, Highway police, Traffic police, Motor Vehicle Registration Authority (MVEs) etc., which deal with traffic and vehicles on roads.

According to data provided by NHA Head Office and National Highway and Motorway police, the total numbers of toll plazas is 98, out of which 84 are operational — 53 are on GT road National Highway and 31 on Motorway. There are more than 21 toll plazas along N-5. In September 2007, about 337,039 vehicles traveled on Karachi-to-Peshawar N-5 road. This year, 202,109 vehicles used N-5 according to facts and figures provided by the PRO of Motorway and Highway authority.

This traffic includes cars, wagons, busses etc. Toll on a car is Rs15, whereas trucks and long vehicles pay Rs100. If we assume that 202,109 cars pay toll of Rs15 per day on one toll plaza and leave the other heavy vehicles and toll plazas aside, then the one-day proceed from one toll plaza would be a seven-digit figure of Rs3,031,635. The fine collected by NH & Motorway police in 2007 was Rs 82,869,950. NHA’s income runs into billions or maybe more. If used properly, these huge amounts can help improve national highways and no additional burden in the form of funds will be put on the government.

There are approximately 44 per cent of world road deaths in Asia that has 17 per cent of the international vehicle fleet.  According to National Transport Research Center (NTRC), Pakistan has one of the highest road accident rates in the world. In 2003, about 10,000 people died in road accidents annually. According to Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS), about 9,593 road accidents took place in 2005, and they haven’t updated this data. According to NH & Motorway Police, this figure arose to 13,000 in 2007.

As many as 227 vehicle accidents took place on Motorway in 2005; 164 in 2006 and 170 in 2007. Pakistani public and government bear a loss of over 1 billion US dollars in these incidents every year. Crime rate is less as compared to accidents. In 2007, 28 crime reports such as robbery, dacoities etc., on N-5 were registered.

MAAP is the department that deals with study and improvement of Motorway and National Highway. They have marked different locations as black spots — marks where more accidents happen as compared to other locations. Black spots include Kalar Kahar on M-2 Motorway, Tarraki Jhelum on GT road N-5, Harrow Pull on N-5, and Kamoki N-5. In Pakistan, there are about 26 deaths from road traffic accidents per 100,000 population, compared to Europe where the death rate averages is 14.5 per 100,000.

According to a study conducted by the Aga Khan University in Karachi, government statistics included only 56 per cent of deaths and more than 4 per cent of serious injuries and concluded that traffic fatalities are a much more serious problem than is reported by the official statistics, which show a death rate of 11.2 per 100,000.

There are more than 50 reasons due to which accidents happen. Major causes of accidents on National Highway and Motorway are different. The data collected by this scribe showed dozing off at the wheel and tyre burst as the main causes of accident on Motorway. Other causes included careless driving or speeding, mechanical fault (brake failure, Tie rod, steering problem, wheel unbalancing etc.), sudden changing of lane and many others. On the other hand, accidents on GT road are of different manner. Most accidents happen on GT road due to the negligence of driver.

In order to make more money, drivers of transport and passenger vehicles undertake long spans of continuous driving. To ward off sleep, they consume drugs like Charas and also use red light in the driver’s cabin of vans and dumpers. According to drivers’ theory, this helps them stay awake and active, but there are no medical proofs to confirm such a theory. Poor road engineering is also a reason that causes accidents. Both over curved and plain patches are dangerous because the vehicle is not stable on these them and becomes difficult to turn and handle.

GT road passes through different cities where free pedestrian movement leads to accidents mostly. People have made markets on NH side paths that block view of driver. Animals, suddenly appearing cycle and motorcycles are also reasons of accidents. Lack of road signs and broken down traffic signals also cause catastrophic incidents. Faulty lights, poor visibility, slippery road, under age driving, U-turn without indication or quick turn, sudden lane changing are just the few to name.

Mood of driver is also worth mentioning. If the driver is stressed or nervous, he is prone to make any sudden wrong decision. Females are more careful drivers as compared to male drivers. It is also observed that youngsters tend to be fast drivers, while aged persons are very cautious in driving as they have more sense of responsibility than youngsters. Family rank also influences driver’s behavior. Married people, especially parents, tend to drive more carefully. Profession greatly affects the driving speed. Those having no occupation e.g. housewives and retired people tend to be careful drivers. Those having low level of education are associated with careful driving and high level of education is associated with fast driving.

Conditions of roads also leave deep impact on the mood or psyche of driver. Bumpy roads or roads with water patch add to frustration. There are some sections of GT road on which the road condition is very dreadful. From Hassanabdal to Sangjani, the road is under construction for last 3 to 4 years. The patch from Tarnol to Sanghjani has been constructed 4 to 5 times, still there is no end to construction activities. The Gujranwala to Lahore stretch has also been under construction for many years.

Keeping in mind the history of this remarkable wonder, we can say such a river of life exists nowhere else in the world. The departments relating to GT road should take care of these problems and restore the dignity of this road.