Karachi, once known as the City of Lights, now stands shadowed by death on its streets.
From January to October 2025 alone, 720 citizens lost their lives in traffic accidents, while over 10,000 were injured.
After 771 deaths the previous year, these new figures have become a ringing alarm bell. Every day, on average, two people leave home and never return — because the streets of Karachi no longer promise life; they deliver accidents.
The greatest toll is paid by the city’s working class — those who ride motorcycles or drive rickshaws.
Without helmets, racing through traffic, they gamble with their lives.
Rickshaw drivers, trying to earn a few more rupees, often cram five passengers into seats meant for three. Many of their vehicles are mechanically unsafe.
Breaking signals, driving on the wrong side, ignoring lanes, and using mobile phones while driving have become routine — and a single mistake can mean the end of a life.
Heavy vehicles pose an equally grave threat. Trucks, trailers, water tankers, and dumpers race through residential areas day and night.
In many crashes, these massive machines have crushed small motorcycles and rickshaws beyond recognition.
Their drivers are often untrained, overworked, and sometimes even under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Yet the law remains silent — and the government’s response usually ends with paperwork after the tragedy.
The city’s roads themselves are a major culprit.
Broken footpaths, nonfunctional signals, missing lane markings, and the absence of pedestrian crossings have made Karachi a dangerous maze.
During emergencies, ambulances get trapped in gridlocks, and instead of justice, the aftermath of accidents turns into a bureaucratic formality.
It feels as if speed — not humanity — rules Karachi’s roads.
Now, the Sindh government has introduced a new initiative — the E-Challan System.
This system uses modern surveillance cameras to automatically record traffic violations and send challans directly to the violator’s home.
In the first phase, hundreds of smart cameras have been installed across the city to detect speeding, signal violations, and lane indiscipline.
Experts believe that if implemented with full transparency and strictness, this system could reduce traffic accidents by at least 25 to 30 percent.
The logic is simple: drivers will realize that violations can no longer be hidden — no bribery, no connections; the camera records everything.
It will also reduce pressure on the police, as technology will now handle much of the enforcement automatically.
But the success of this system depends entirely on sincerity.
If it becomes just another political showpiece, it will fail.
Real change requires a shift in both governance and public attitude.
No E-Challan can save lives if a motorcyclist refuses to wear a helmet or if a rickshaw driver overloads his vehicle in the name of livelihood.
Change must begin with all — the government, the police, and the people.
Karachi doesn’t just need new laws — it needs a new mindset:
that roads are not racetracks to display speed, but spaces meant to preserve life.
Only when this understanding takes root will Karachi’s streets stop being a journey toward death — and once again become pathways of life.
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