It has been observed in Afghanistan that every day many people lose their lives or are severely injured because of traffic accidents. They have become a serious problem and tangible measures have to be taken to tackle the issue. Traffic incidents are often experienced on different highways; however, there are many accidents on minor roads in cities and different villages, as well.
Currently a news item revealed that only during Eid holidays, 175 people were injured in various parts of southern Paktika province in traffic accidents. This number is really high and shows the severity of the problem.
A doctor, named Muhammad Riza, who works in a private hospital in Sharan has told news sources that among 175 people who have been injured in the accidents, 15 were really critical and were rushed to Kabul for treatment.
Most of the officials believe that these accidents are basically because of the carelessness of the drivers and they are right in this regard to a certain extent. The drivers, on most of the cases, do not take care of the traffic laws and basic rules of driving. Some are in the habit of speeding, which is really an important factor in causing accidents. Especially, for motorcycles it is very risky to run with high speeds on the roads that are not well-maintained and where most of the people do not take care of the traffic laws.
Though the carelessness of the drivers is one of the main causes, the condition of the roads and the insufficiency of traffic laws and officials also play a major part in it. Afghanistan is one of the countries that are suffering from the lack of proper network of roads. There are many areas in the country that are not accessible through proper roads and people remain away from attention and proper services. Leave the other parts of the country aside, the condition of roads in the capital Kabul are pathetic as well. Anyone, who might have experienced travelling through different parts of the capital city, can witness the agony they face in such an experience. There are only few roads that are well-maintained while the rest are nothing but ancients remains that support dust more than vehicles and people.
On most of the occasions, there are no traffic lights and the traffic officials on certain occasions do not perform their duties properly. In addition, the people who drive vehicles are mostly without driving license and the process to getting license does not involve knowing sufficient driving skills. All these factors increase the chances of accidents and the relevant authorities must take steps to solve these issues urgently; only blaming the drivers for the accidents do not solve the issues at all.