Director General, Punjab Emergency Service Dr. Rizwan Naseer reviewed Road Traffic Crashes (RTCs) on Independence Day in all districts of Punjab in a meeting held at Rescue Headquarters here. The Punjab Emergency Service has rescued 1,547 victims while responding to 1,355 Road Traffic Crashes on 14th of August 2020, across Punjab.
This number shows a decline of 20 % as compared to 1,692 crashes on Independence Day in 2019.
The data revealed that maximum accidents were reported in Lahore which included 295 followed by 119 in Multan and 109 in Faisalabad District. The lowest number of, 05 accidents were observed in Bhakkar. DG Rescue Punjab observed that road traffic crashes have become the leading cause of injuries. Out of 1547 injured due to RTCs, 234 were Single Fractures, 147 Head Injuries, 72 Multiple Fractures, 28 Spinal Injuries, whereas fortunately, 1066 were minor injured.
DG Rescue Punjab further observed that males were the vulnerable road users as 83 percent of the victims were male and 17 percent of females were affected in road traffic crashes whereas 13 died at the site of accidents.
The analysis of data revealed over speeding was the leading cause of accidents 46.2%, followed by careless driving 31.6%, Wrong Turns 5.9% and other cases 16.1%. Moreover, motorbikes were found to be involved in 73.4%, cars in 8.5%, rickshaws in 7.9%, vans in 1.5%, Tractor Trolley, buses, and trucks in 2.42%.
Dr. Rizwan Naseer appreciated working of Provincial Monitoring Cell and expressed his concerns in the increasing number of RTCs which resulted to 13 deaths and 481 seriously injured in only 24 hours on independence day.
He said that strict enforcement of traffic laws is need of the hour besides urging the general public to abide by traffic laws and safety rules while driving. He further appealed to the parents to play their effective role to stop underage driving and ensuring that their children & relatives wear a safety helmet while riding motorbikes.
