Abrar ul Haq hopes PRCS initiative will help make roads safer and save many lives 

DNA

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has launched an initiative to raise awareness among general public about road safety in order to reduce traffic accidents, deaths and injuries and save lives.

The project, being executed by PRCS in collaboration with other Movement Partners, will target general public, local transport drivers, and relevant government authorities to seek their contribution in reducing road fatalities. The project will promote ‘Individual Road Safety Commitment Card’, one of the initiatives set by the Global Road Safety Partnership for Red Cross and Red Crescent. A special emphasis on post-crash response will be laid under the project. First aid trainings will be imparted to traffic police and motorways police in order to boost their capacity vis-à-vis post-crash response so that maximum lives can be saved and permanent disabilities could be averted on roads. The project will involve volunteers who will help promote the 10-point agenda of the ‘Individual Road Safety Commitment Card’.

“Road safety is a major public health issue in Pakistan. It is estimated that every five minutes, someone is killed or badly injured in a road traffic crash in Pakistan,” PRCS Chairman Abrar ul Haq said. “One of the major causes of road deaths and injuries in Pakistan is the lack of awareness,” he said. “Road traffic deaths and injuries can be reduced by improving awareness level of general public and transporters through a public awareness campaign on road safety,” he maintained.

The chairman hoped that the project launched by the PRCS in collaboration with Movement Partners will help boost road safety in Pakistan through increased awareness among general public, commuters, transporters and the traffic police personnel. “Road safety is a shared responsibility and we all need to do more to protect our communities from deaths and injuries on roads,” he added.

The project launched by the PRCS aims at achieving the SDG target of halving the current number of road deaths in Pakistan, which is also aligned with the vision of the National Road Safety Strategy, 2018-2030. Another objective of the PRCS initiative is to strengthen advocacy on existing laws to help government boost road safety. A campaign will be launched to encourage people to comply with existing laws, guidelines and policies pertaining to the road safety. On the other hand, the public authorities will be informed about gaps in road safety measures, especially as public vehicles and freight transport is projected to exponentially increase in the coming years.