Government should consider reopening Pakistan Traffic Injury Research and Prevention Centre
Developed countries around the globe are enjoying healthy growth in every field, be it economy or technology. And all this is happening because of research they are doing in these respective areas. The government of developed countries open new research centres and backs them with funds to keep them functional for extensive researches. Pakistan is among those countries where research is not done very keenly more specifically the research rate in the country is meager. One of the reasons why the research rate in the country is low; because the government does not fund the research project for long.
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This time the victim of the government’s negligence was Pakistan Traffic Injury Research and Prevention Centre (PTIRPC)—only operational road accident research centre in Pakistan. The centre situated in Karachi was shut down in December last year due to lack of Sindh government’s support and funds. The centre shared data of road accidents in the Karachi for straight ten years.
Pakistan Traffic Injury Research and Prevention Centre’s objectives were to:
- To maintain and modify the road injury trauma data collected within our limited scope.
- To evaluate the severity of the collected injury data
- Identifying the vulnerable road user groups.
- Identifying the major causes of accidents.
- To assess the pattern and behavior of accidents on major arterials.
- Black Spot Treatment
- Road safety audits of high frequency accident locations.
- Coordination with stake holders.
- Promoting research culture
- Training and education
- To reduce the degree of road traffic injuries
- To expand and qualify our data collection by broadening our focused vicinity (i.e. increasing the number of hospitals)
- To publish research in the form of booklets, pamphlets and fliers on road safety related issues.
- To provide a facility that will be self sustaining in the long term
- To provide a facility that will promote interdisciplinary collaborative research between the centre and stake holders
The centre started working on August 2006—the time when there was a surge in vehicles’ numbers on the roads and also road accidents were increasing day by day. The centre collected data on many issues such as how the pedestrians were being killed after getting hit by a vehicle.
It is an old news that saw while going through old archive, but it made me think. Every government world over ensures the safety of their citizens by inculcating different safety tips for citizens advised to them by research centres like our Pakistan Traffic Injury Research and Prevention Centre. These centres come up with safety methods and practices through extensive research. Moving onward, PTIRPC has performed Road Safety audits on 200 different locations and their suggestive methods helped Sindh Government to curb road accidents in the metropolis. The government should seriously think of supporting, funding and help in reopening the centre because many lives depend on it. Lack of research and awareness can contribute to increasing numbers of road accidents.
Let us know what you think and share your thoughts in the comment section below. Drive safely!
