Determinant of Frequent Road Accidents in Megacities (A Case Study of Karachi)

Abstract

Karachi is the seventh largest megacity in the world with respect to population and its growth.  Since the last census held in 1998 the population of Karachi has doubled. Karachi city is the economic hub of Pakistan and migrants from all over Pakistan come to Karachi for employment opportunities. More than 3.79 million vehicles are running on the roads of Karachi, which are controlled by only 3200 traffic police staff. The ratio of traffic controlling staff to Number of vehicle is 1: 118438 one person for more than 0.1 million vehicles. Study reveals that rapid increase in motorization, lack of awareness about traffic rules and illegally occupied land (encroachments), and poor law enforcement are contributing to the frequency of road traffic accidents in the Karachi city. According to Excise and Taxation department of the Government of Sindh, that is responsible for registration of vehicles in the province, vehicles in Karachi are increasing by 908 per day and every year the lives of approximately 1.25 million people are cut short as a result of a road traffic crash. Karachi is now dealing with more than 30,000 road traffic accidents every year, a situation that may worsen with time. This paper analyzes the factors that significantly impact on frequent road traffic accidents. A survey of 1991 households was conducted in 2015 – 2016 and a11,127 respondents were interviewed out of which 7,697 people having age ranging from 15 to 70 years have been considered.

Keywords: Road Traffic accident, motorization, Encroachments