Moving coffins on highways

A Pakistani 660cc car, carrying a family from Lahore, recently collided with a stationary sugarcane trolley that had been loaded to capacity and parked negligently on the roadside. The accident, which claimed seven lives, is a grim indictment of compromised road safety standards in the country, and the abysmal structural integrity of vehicles sold at exorbitant prices in Pakistan. While trolleys have become silent predators on our highways, the contribution to the current tragedy of the small car itself should not be ignored. A vehicle now costing upwards of three million rupees crumpled upon impact like a plastic bottle. Witnesses described the wreckage as a ‘tin can’, a term that tragically fits the reality. In a collision of this magnitude, the expectation of modern engineering is a safety mechanism that preserves life. Instead, the vehicle disintegrated. Reports indicate that airbags — a basic global safety standard — did not deploy, or perhaps were never sufficient to begin with. It is baffling that Pakistani consumers pay luxury prices for vehicles that lack basic structural safety. We are effectively purchasing moving coffins. The disparity between the price tag and the safety features provided is logically indefensible.

This incident must serve as a wake-up call for the National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP) to enforce strict penalties on unlit, stationary trolleys. Simultaneously, the Engineering Develop-ment Board (EDB) must hold automotive manufacturers accountable. We cannot continue to normalise the loss of human life due to negligence and corporate greed. Seven lives are gone. How many more have to perish before we demand better?

M HASSAN J

ISLAMABAD